The Gullwings' Gaea Journey
by Gryffindor-RikkuChan
Summary: When Yuna falls into Gaea, she teams up with Cloud, Aerith, and the rest of the team to stop Shin-Ra and Sephiroth. Will she be able to find Tidus?
1. The Gunner's Lucky Shot

Hello, everyone! I'm not dead, so you know. Anyway, while playing Final Fantasy X-2 the other day, I pondered what would happen if Yuna entered the world of Gaea when she fell through the hole in Djose after defeating Ixion. Apparently, Aerith's garden is a popular spot. This story was generously beta read by RubyUria! And in dedication to him!

Summary: When Yuna fell through the hole in Djose Temple, she ended up in a world known as Gaea. There she met and befriended a mysterious young woman named Aerith Gainsborough, who lived with her adoptive mother. To pay the rent for their house, Yuna joins a rebel group called AVALANCHE to gain money and meets the anti-soical former SOLDIER known as Cloud Strife, also she continues her journey to search for the one she loves so dearly. Soon enough, Yuna finds many clues to find him and discovers that ALAVANCHE'S simple mission turns into a life-altering adventure. An reunion with her father and his guradians would lead Yuna down the path to find her beloved, but what happens when she begins to fall for the mysterious gunslinger Vincent Valentine?

Pairings: Yuna x Vincent, Tifa x OC, Cloud x Aerith, Tifa x Cloud, Lenne x Shuyin, Jecht x OC

Disclaimer: Characters belong to SqaureEnix, the song Yuna sings in Songstress belogns to Celine Dion.

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Chapter 1 A Gunner's Lucky Shot

Underneath the metal Plate that hid the blue sky, there lived the city of Midgar ruled by the massive company, Shin-Ra Electric Power Company. The company's main target for experiments was a young woman with long deep brown hair and sparkling emerald green eyes. But lately, their target has been the woman's companion, a mysterious young woman with short light brown hair and heterochromatin eyes, everyone in the slums found it strange she wore a long tail in the back of her hair and often wore different clothes, wielding different weapons. The people who saw her told others that she fell from the sky, through the ceiling of an old church in sector 5. The strange woman told the people she was on a journey to find the one she loved deeply. But despite the efforts she had made, the only clue she had a small sphere which played a video of a young man with spiky blond hair and bright sea blue eyes.

One day, she was by herself, leaning out of a two story cottage, staring up at the hidden sky, the sky whose color was the same as the eyes of her dear beloved. She sighed, and heard some footsteps, just the sound of footsteps made her heart leap into her chest and she turned to see who was coming. A man who was slightly older than her with long fiery red hair tied back into a ponytail and light sea green aqua eyes, resting in his wildly red hair was a pair of sunglasses, strange marks almost seem to encircle his eyes, and he wore a blue tuxedo with the white shirt underneath opened a bit. The woman gasped and took a step back; she couldn't back but get a strange feeling from this man. The man smiled and sighed.

"I don't mean to frighten you, I'm Reno, a Turk." He said, introducing himself, holding out his hand to shake hers. The woman hesitated and took his hand, introducing herself, "I'm Yuna." They shook for awhile, but then Reno pulled Yuna closer to him and kissed her on the lips, Yuna struggled to break free, but unbeknownst to her, Reno pulled out a needle and stuck in it into her upper right arm. He pulled down on the needle and watched the strange colored liquid inside disappear inside Yuna's body. Then he pulled away and left, Yuna felt weird for a moment, gripping her right arm. As if on cue, the woman who Yuna met when she came here stepped out of the cottage. She wore a light pink dress underneath a short sleeve deep jacket, wrapped around her wrists were silver bracelets, and on her feet were brown boots. Her hair was up in a braid, tied in a ribbon of the same color as her dress.

"Yuna, is everything alright?" she asked, worried about her, Yuna nodded and smiled, hugging the woman. "I'm fine, Aerith. No need to worry………" she said softly. Aerith Gainsborough sighed and hugged her back. After a few moments, they headed into the cottage, Yuna slowly pushing the strange kiss from Reno out of her mind.

A few days later, Yuna found herself on a train heading for the first sector of Midgar; she let her mind wander as she listened to the leader rant about the mission. The leader was a rough looking man; he had short black and dark brown eyes, wearing camouflage style clothes. Yuna found it very interesting how his dark skin went well with his dog tag necklace, dark green vest, and camouflage pants. For some reason, he had only black leather glove on his hand; the other was a machine gun. She completely ignored the stares she was receiving, she was in her Gunner dressphere, and it only consisted of the white sleeveless shirt with the Zanarkand Abes symbol, the red hood, the blue semi-dress that only covered her right leg, her brown belt, the yellow shoulder pads, and her knee high black boots.

Standing next to her was a young man with spiky blond hair and dull sea blue eyes, he wore a navy blue sleeveless sweater-like turtle collar shirt, a rusty old shoulder pad covered his left shoulder, brown gloves on his hands, violet colored pants, and brown combat boots. From what Yuna knew, this man used to work for Shin-Ra and was a member of a brute group called SOLDIER. In a way, Yuna thought about the Crusaders, who fought against Sin two years ago. She sighed again, immediately thinking of her beloved. She remembered how confused he was when he heard of the Crusaders, and wished he was with her right now. The man was only part of this rebel group to get some money, Yuna also wanted to get money, but to help Aerith and her mother pay the rent for their home.

The train soon stopped in the station with a couple Shin-Ra Company guards protecting the platform. A woman with short brown hair and bright blue eyes jumped out and knocked out the guards. Two men joined the blond haired woman ran up the stairs. The leader jumped out and behind him, shouting, "Follow us, newcomers." The leader ran up the stairs to join the others, Yuna was the first to jump from the top of the train; the man followed close behind her. Some new guards appeared; Yuna took out her guns and twirled them, before aiming them at the guards while the man took out a huge sword. The two knocked the guards quickly, and then joined the woman and the men.

"Wow!" One of the men examined the man and his outfit. "You used to be in SOLDIER, alright! I can just from looking at you!"

"SOLDIER?!" The woman shouted. "Biggs, aren't they the enemy?! Why is HE here?!"

The other man, Wedge, told her, "Calm down, Jess. He USED to be a part of SOLDIER. Didn't catch his name though...."

"My name is Cloud," The man introduced, then turned to Yuna and everyone waited for her to introduce herself.

"I'm Yuna; I'm just here to help my family……." She looked rather nervous and looked away.

"Cloud and Yuna, huh?" Biggs whispered the name to himself for awhile then said, "Well, my name is...."

"Listen, I don't care what your names are." Cloud said. "I'm just here for the money."

Biggs could only nod when the group heard a familiar voice shout, "HEY!!!! No traveling in groups!" It was the leader running up to them, he looked toward Cloud, then to Yuna, then looked toward Biggs and asked him, "They the new members of our rebellion?"

Biggs nodded while Jessie entered the code to open the door, the door opened and Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie ran inside the reactor. Meanwhile the leader decided to stay behind to talk with Yuna and Cloud.

"I don't trust you, ex-SOLDIER," Barret said. "Name's Barret."

Yuna and Cloud nodded and walked with him into the reactor, Barret turned to Cloud, a sour expression on his face. "Hey, have you been in a reactor before?" Yuna looked away from them, she had only seen the reactors, never been inside one. Cloud, however, had probably in the reactor too many times to count.

"Of course, I used work for Shin-Ra Company before." Cloud replied in a rather cold tone. Yuna sighed.

Barret sighed as well, he told Cloud, "Cloud, the world is dying because of Shin-Ra." Although Yuna wasn't sure if Barret really meant that statement, she couldn't help but feel he was right. Almost every day since her arrival, she would hear a faint cry, but she didn't know where it was coming out.

"That is none of my concern." Cloud simply walked past him. "I'm just there for the money, not a lecture and definitely not saving the world." Yuna sweatdropped, the way Cloud spoke reminded her a lot of Beclem, the new captain of her hometown's Blitzball team, the Besaid Aurochs. She was only grateful of what made Cloud different from Beclem though, all Beclem did was denounce the Summoners, and Yuna was still a little peeved at that memory.

Barret grew angry at what Cloud said, but he sighed and followed him, Yuna walking by his side. The group waited for Jessie to enter the code and open the door, which she did. The one thing Yuna wasn't used to on this strange world was the technology, it was very different on what used on Spira, her home world. As she thought about how different Gaea was from Spira, a soft whistle was heard throughout the room. Everyone, including Yuna, wondered where the sound came from.

Barret entered the room with Yuna as Biggs entered another code to open the next door. They walked into the next room, and Wedge entered the final code to open the door to the elevator. Biggs stood by the door, letting Jessie, Yuna, Barret, and Cloud enter the elevator.

Jessie pressed a green button and the elevator started to descend. The whole room was quiet; Yuna leaned against the cold wall, Barret turned to Cloud and said, "Cloud, the world's going to die if no one does something."

"Look, Barret," Cloud said, crossing his arms. "I don't care what happens to the world. I'm just here for my money." Yuna smiled, she found it weird how similar certain people reminded her of her friends, aside from his attitude, Barret was like Wakka, a leader, she already knew that Cloud's cold attitude reminded her of Beclem. She sighed, thinking about the rest of the people she knew on Spira.

Jessie grabbed Barret's shoulder to prevent him from attacking Cloud while Cloud stood where he was, the elevator stopped and Cloud was the first to exit it. Following behind him was a cursing Barret, Jessie, and Yuna. They came to a long broken thick, Jessie jumped to the other, Yuna jumped after her, Barret followed, and Cloud followed out last.

Jessie stopped at a ladder and turned to Cloud and Yuna, saying, "The spot is down there." Cloud nodded and climbed down the ladder, Yuna went down after him, and Barret followed behind them. They crossed the bridge to the center pillar; Barret took a bomb and gave it to Cloud.

"Shouldn't you do this?" he asked.

"I'm gonna watch you, so you don't mess up!" Barret told him.

Cloud sighed and walked over to the pillar, he planted the bomb and was about to enter the code when he heard a voice.

_'Please, wait! This isn't just a Reactor!'_

Cloud looked around, but shook his head and entered the code. Soon, a red light flashed, Cloud ran back to Barret and Yuna. Barret smiled and walked back to the ladder when a red machine scorpion appeared.

They took out their weapons, getting to fight the giant red machine obviously sent by Shin-Ra to stop from blowing the reactor.

Cloud slashed at the legs while Yuna shot at the head with her guns, Barret shot with his gun arm. When the machine was about to attack Yuna, Cloud got in the way and was hit. Barret was about to attack when its long tail was lifted in the air. Cloud gasped and shouted at Barret and Yuna, "Don't attack when its tail is up!" Barret and Yuna nodded, Yuna changed to Songstress and decided to boost everyone's defense. She began to sing, _"Every night, in my dreams, I see you, I feel you. That is how I know you go on."_

Apparently, Cloud and Barret was awestruck at her singing, from what they were seeing, not only were their defense being boosted, the two got to see a different side of Yuna, her expressions seemed to match what she was singing, _"Far across the distance and spaces between us, you have come to show you go on."_ As for Yuna, she was singing about her beloved, the man who touched her heart with not wits or looks, but kindness. Although coming from the holy city, Zanarkand, he still had a kind of kindness that she loved. She would journey until she found him.

"_Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on. Once more, you open the door and you're here in my heart and my heart will go on and on……"_ Yuna began to cry, her memories of her dear beloved beginning to swell in her heart, she saw everything about him fading, his eyes, his words, even his smile…. Yuna cried harder, and continued to sing.

Cloud wondered what made Yuna what she was, he was told she was looking for the one she loved, and she won't stop until she did. He sighed as he listened to her sing, _"Love can us one time and last for a lifetime and never let until we're gone. Love was when I loved you, one true time I hold to, in my life will always go on." _Ever since becoming a SOLDIER, Cloud had abandoned all emotion, but upon meeting the beautiful strange woman, he felt a certain change come over him, she had an aura that reminded him of someone, although who he wasn't sure.

Barret couldn't help but think about his family, he was only fighting Shin-Ra because they took away his wife and his friend from him, and he took it upon himself to care for his friend's only child, who was waiting for him at AVALANCHE's hideout. As he listened to Yuna sing, he felt something, but he couldn't place on what it was. _"Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on. Once more, you open the door and you're here in my heart and my heart will go on and on…….."_

Yuna, for her part, continued to think about her beloved, and how she deeply missed him, her new journey to find him, and the mysteries that surrounded her search. _"You're here! There's nothing I fear, and I know that my heart will go on! We'll stay forever this way! You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on and on………" _By the time she finished, she reverted back to Gunner and gripped her gun tightly. That's when the laser at the tail blasted a large beam at the trio. They all fell to the ground, but the damage wasn't too bad, thanks to Yuna giving sung to boost their defense. Yuna stood up and aimed her gun at the scorpion, but shook. She couldn't pull the trigger, Cloud and Barret stared at her and gasped. Yuna didn't see it but a pair of slightly solid transparent hands belonging to a tall young man standing behind her wrapped themselves around her trembling hands and helped straighten her figure. Then the hand over her trigger hand gently pulled down on her finger and a small bullet came out of her gun.

The bullet hit its mark and went through the machine; Yuna dropped her arms and fell to her knees as the machine exploded, her gun still smoking from the blast. She sighed and felt something cold next to her hand, looking down, Yuna gasped. Laying on the ground right next to her hand was a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of the Zanarkand Abes symbol and an earring in the same shape. Picking up the items, Yuna cried and held them close to her heart, smiling at one more clue to find him. Yuna, along with Cloud and Barret, stood up and ran to the ladder, wanting to leave before the bomb exploded. Cloud seemed to notice something wrong with Jessie.

He walked over to her and saw one of her legs was struck. Sighing, he helped her free her struck leg, she smiled, Barret and Yuna arrived at the top. They ran back to the elevator and entered it. Jessie pressed the button and turned to Barret. Yuna gasped for air, still cradling the two objects she found.

"Jessie, how much time is left for us to escape?" Barret asked.

"I don't know, probably two or one minute," she said, a discourage look on her face.

Cloud slammed his fist into the wall, a ticked look on his face. Before anyone could do anything, Cloud ran out of the elevator when it stopped, with Yuna right behind him, and past Biggs and Wedge as Barret and Jessie joined them as well as they exited the elevator. They were well out of the way when the fire ring from the explosion appeared, but the shock wave made the group fall to the ground.

Only one person cried out, it was Wedge, the fire was caught on his pants, he was running around like crazy. Yuna sweatdropped and laughed, Barret stood up and said, "We'll meet up at the station." With that said, everyone went their own way to station, leaving Yuna with Barret.

"Hey....." Cloud spoke up, Barret waved at him, telling him to wait til they got to the hideout. Sighing, Cloud walked around the town when he heard a voice.

"Excuse me...."

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There will be more moments like that later on in the story, trust me! During the next chapter, Yuna meets Tifa, finds another clue to Tidus, haves her own flashback of the past, and prepares for the next mission. Just so you know, the chapter titles have nothing to with the actual contexts of the story. R&R, please!


	2. A Thief's Moment of Bliss

Hey, there. Who've been waiting for this new chapter! Anyway, this will be the only chapter right now where I will say Tidus' name. He will appear in person later in the story, just wait. I'm more curious about the strange shop clerk Yuna met. -chuckles evilly- There's the full context of the sphere.

-jiggly screen-

Aerith: Is this how you hold this thing?

-Tidus walks to the flower garden, screen right-

Aerith: They're beautiful, huh?

Tidus: I wonder if she would enjoy this beauty too……

Characters belong to Square-Enix, not me.

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Chapter 2 A Thief's Moment of Bliss

Cloud turned and saw a young woman standing behind him. She was very young, her outfit was simple, yet she gave off a gentle aura. He stared in awe at her, she just smiled at him, holding her basket of flowers and asked, "Um, sir, has something happened?"

"Uh, nothing....." Cloud looked away from her and said. "Hey, people don't see flowers around here a lot."

"Oh!" The woman said in surprise, looking down at her flowers. "Do you like these? They're only one gil."

"I'll buy some," Cloud said, handing her six gil coins. The woman smiled and said, "Oh, thank you very much!"

She reached into her basket and pulled out six flowers, handing them to Cloud and gently taking the gil from him, and then she walked off. Staring at the flowers, Cloud sighed and walked off as well. He walked through the sector, ignoring everyone as they ignored him. As he walked down a street into the sector, he turned a voice calling out to him.

"Hey! You there!!!"

He turned to some Shin-Ra guards running toward him, he smirked and ran off, trying to run to the left, but he ran into more Shin-Ra guards, then he tried running to the right, but still he ran into more Shin-Ra guards. Eventually, he was standing on the edge of the walkway, surrounded by the Shin-Ra guards.

"That's as far as you go," one said.

Cloud just smirked and told them, "I don't have time to be messing around with wimps like you guys."

"Enough talking!" another said, waving his arm out. "Grab him!!!!!!"

Just as they were about to grab him, Cloud jumped of the walkway and landed on a passing train going through a tunnel, down in the cargo room of the train, there was Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, Barret, and Yuna sitting all around the room. Cloud didn't show up at the station, and almost everyone started to get worried. Yuna, however, was thinking about what she encountered in the sector. There was a mysterious cloaked shop clerk on the street, selling potions and other healing items. Although the clerk seemed innocent, Yuna felt something strange about him while buying some potions from him.

"Cloud never came." Biggs said, being the first to speak up.

"Cloud......" Wedge thought for a while and said, "Think he got killed or something?"

"No way!!!!!" Barret said, he sighed, Jessie thought to the moment Cloud helped her and whispered, "Cloud......"

Barret sighed; they all looked when they heard something on the roof and went back to their business. Biggs turned to Barret, he said, "Say, do you think Cloud's...... going to fight to the end for AVALANCHE?"

"The hell would I know?!" Barret shouted. "Do I look like a mind reader?"

Angered by that stupid self-centered ex-SOLDIER, Barret hit a crate and sighed. "If only you weren't such weaklings......"

"Hey, Barret!" Biggs said. "What about our money?"

Angrily, Barret hit the barrel again, that told Biggs to be quiet, "Uh, nothing..... sorry."

The group looked up again when the hit was heard and a voice, the sound of footsteps made them wonder who was up there; coming from the side door was a dirty faced Cloud, surprising everyone. Biggs and Wedge stood up and Jessie just smiled, Barret stood where he was, his mouth agape. Yuna smiled, gripping the two items she received from the reactor, Cloud was just full of surprises.

"Cloud!!" Biggs and Wedge shouted.

"Cloud....." Jessie said, smiling at the dirty faced member of AVALAHNCE.

Dusting himself off, Cloud smirked at Barret, saying, "Looks like I'm a little late." Barret just exploded, saying, "You're freaking right, you're late!!!!!!!!!!!! Just waltzing in here, making a big scene like that!"

"That's no big deal," Cloud said, running his hand through his hair. "That's just what I always do."

"Sheez....." Barret sighed. "Having everyone so worried about you like they were, you don't seem to give a care for anyone but yourself." Cloud sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Hmmm........" he said. "You were worried about me?"

"Wha!!!!!!" Barret just shouted. "I'm takin' that out of your money, big stuff!" Barret walked over to the door, then turned to the others, shouting, "Wake up! We're moving out! Follow us!"

Barret opened the door and entered the next car, Biggs walked to Cloud, smiling as he said, "Hey Cloud!!!! You were great back there!" He went into the next car; Wedge came in front of him and said, "Heh heh..... Cloud! We'll do even better next time!" He followed his leader and friend into the next car of the train, Jessie walked over to the door, saying, "Be careful. I'll shut this."

She closed the door, turning to Cloud, she gasped and smiled, saying, "Oh, Cloud! Your face is pitch-black...." She went up to him and wiped off the dirt from his face, she smiled even more as she said, "There you go! Say, thanks for helping me back there at the Reactor!"

She went into the next car; Cloud just sighed and followed the rest of the team into the next train car, holding Yuna's hand as he did so. When the team entered, they all heard the announcer's voice: "_Last train out of Sector 8 Station. Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23 AM, Midgar Standard Time."_

Barret sighed and sat down, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie ran up and looked behind them, an official sighed and said to himself, "This is why I hate the last train. Hoo-boy...."

He left the car, Cloud and Yuna finally entered the car and tried to the next car, but a guard came in and said, "Please!!! You're bothering the other passengers." Yuna went to sit by Barret and examined the items she found at the reactor.

Cloud turned to Cloud, who turned to him. She smiled and asked, "Hey, Cloud. Want to look at this with me? It's a map of the Midgar Rail System. Let's look at it together. I'll explain it to you. I like this sorta of stuff. Bombs and monitors.... you know, flashy stuff."

At first, the screen was black, Jessie said, "Okay, it's about to start." Cloud looked toward the screen, which flashed a green 3-D model of the city, Jessie started to explain, "This is a complete model of the city of Midgar. It's about a 1/10000 scale. The top place is about 50 meters above the ground. A main support structure holds the plate in the center, and there are other support structures built in each section....."

"The No. 1 Reactor we blew up was in the northern section," she whispered to Cloud. "There's No. 2, No. 3 all the way up to the No. 8 Reactor. The 8 Reactors provide Midgar with electricity. Each town used to have a name, but no one in Midgar remembers them. Instead of names, we refer to them as numbered sectors. That's the kind of place this is."

"Phew....." Jessie took a breath and said, looking the screen, "This is next! Look." The screen re-showed the model of the city, now showing a line. "This is the route the train is on. The route spirals around the main support structure. We should be coming around the center area, right about now. At each checkpoint, an ID sensor device is set up. It can check the identities and background of every passenger on the train by linking it up to the central data bank at Midgar headquarters."

"Anyone can tell that we look really suspicious, so we're using fake IDs," Jessie whispered to him again, soon a red light started to flash; Jessie smiled and said, "Speak of the devil.... That light means that we're in the ID Security Check area. "

"When the lights go off, you never know what kind of creeps'll come out," she whispered again, "....anyway, we're almost back now. That's a relief."

The red flashing died down and Cloud went to Barret and Yuna, who was looking out the window, Barret said, "Look... You can see the surface now. This city isn't have any day or night. If that plate wasn't there... we could see the sky." Cloud looked the window as well, he said, "A floating city..... Pretty unsettling scenery..." Yuna almost found that strange of Cloud to be producing such poetic words.

Barret looked at him, dumbfound, "Huh? Never expected to hear that outta someone like you. The upper world.... a city on a plate.... It's because of $$ pizza, that people underneath the plate are sufferin'! And the city below is full of polluted air! On top of that, the Reactors keep draining all the energy."

"Then why doesn't everyone move onto the plate?" Cloud asked, Barret sighed and said, "Don't know. Probably, 'cause they don't any money. Or, maybe.... Because they just love their land, no matter how it gets."

Cloud turned to the window and said, "I know.... No one lives in the slums because they want to..... It's like this train. It can't run anywhere expect where its rails take it." The train passed through the tunnel and circled the main support structure holding up the plate. The train finally pulled into the station, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge got off, waiting for Barret, Cloud, and Yuna. Barret stood on the stairs, shouting, "Hey!!! Gather over there, all of you!!"

Everyone gathered around the leader of AVALANCHE, Barret said, "Alright, this mission was a big success. But don't get lazy now. The hard part's still come to come! Don't you all be scared because of that explosion! Cause the next one's gonna much bigger than that!"

"Meet at the hideout!" he shouted. "Move out!" He left the station, everyone else followed and came up to a small bar called Seven Heaven, Barret entered, the sound of Barret's machine gun gave everyone a small idea about what they're doing to clear the bar, then Barret came out, signaling everyone to come in. Everyone, but Cloud, entered because Barret had stopped him.

"Heh heh...." he started to laugh. "You wanna meet your little baby?"

"Little baby?" Cloud asked, confused.

"Hey!" Barret nearly shouted. "Don't act like you don't know what I mean! I'm telling ya...." He sighed and said, "Ok! Go on ahead." Cloud went and entered the bar, but didn't expect to see someone who looked familiar to him.

O~Tifa's P.O.V.~O

The sound of Barret's machine gun firing to scare the costumers out in my bar, Seventh Heaven, made me snap back into the reality of the real world, I was thinking about something when Barret came to scare the costumers. I sighed and leaned against the bar counter, a girl with short light brown hair and bi-colored eyes tapped my shoulder. I had been told she was the new member. I smiled and nodded.

"Hey, Tifa, are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, Yuna," I told her, smiling. "My mind was just in another world for awhile." Of course, my mind was in another world, my mind had always been in another world, no one else seem to know that. It's been five years since that day, my hometown had been destroyed. Five years.....

It felt like much more time had passed since that day. I could still see the bright flames engulfed my home and destroyed my hometown, could still feel the sadness of seeing my father's dead body, and could still feel the chillness of staring into the narrow eyes of the person who did it.

Because of that person, I had lost everything that meant something to me, my home, my father, the promise I made with my best friend. I looked at Yuna; all I or anyone in AVALANCHE knew about her was that she was journeying to look for the one she loves deeply. The only reason she joined the team was to gain the money to help her friends pay the rent for their home.

As usual, Biggs and Wedge shouted loudly at me, asking me to make them a couple of drinks for them. I sighed and did so, handing them their cups as soon as I was done. The young girl with me ran out from behind the bar counter; I smiled when young Marlene shout, "Papa!!!"

But I got confused when she ran into a corner and hid; I walked out from behind my bar and said to Marlene, "Marlene!! Aren't you going to say something to Cloud?"

Standing up and turning around, I couldn't help but smiled. Standing right in front of me was someone I knew very well, a man with short spiky dark blond hair and dark sea blue eyes wearing a SOLDIER uniform. I softly smiled to myself, happy to see what he got what he always wanted, to be in SOLDIER.

"Welcome back, Cloud!" I said, walking over to him, not noticing Marlene followed behind me, catching his attention. "Looks like everything went well. Did you fight with Barret?"

Cloud just nodded and sighed. I smiled, apparently his new attitude is comes from being a member of SOLDIER. Seeing his nod to my question, I sighed and said, "I should have known. He's always pushing people around and you've been going into fights since you were very little. I was really worried."

"It's great to see you again, Tifa," I heard him say, he looked away from me, but I couldn't tell if it was because he was blushing to see me or not. I just smiled and noticed something, he was holding flowers, I said, "Flowers? How nice.... You almost never see them here in the slums. But.... A flower for me.... You don't have to do, Cloud...."

"No big, but..." I smiled as Cloud gave the flower to Marlene, then gave some to Yuna, and watched as he sat on a table near the table as Barret came in. Marlene ran to her adopted father, and Barret picked her up, just seeing that made me envy Barret, it reminded me a lot of my own father.

"Papa, welcome home!" Marlene said happily, Barret smiled, saying and putting her on his shoulder, "Yeah." After seeing the flower in her hands, he asked, "Huh? Where did you get that flower?"

"Cloud gave it to me," she said, Barret said, "Oh...... Did you thank him?"

"........" Marlene was quiet and turned to Cloud. "Thank you, Cloud. We'll take good care of you!"

I smiled and asked, "You all right, Barret?"

"Great!" was his reply, and then he shouted, "Get in here, fools! The meeting's starting!" He went to the pinball machine since it served at the elevator to the meeting room. He went downstairs, while everyone followed him; I went behind the bar.

O~Tifa's P.O.V. End~O

From Yuna saw, the meeting room was small, since Jessie was such a techno whiz, she sat at the computer which was next to the television, to keep his strength up, Barret was in the corner, sparring with the punching bag there, while Biggs and Wedge sat at the table next to it. Cloud walked over to Barret, he asked, "Hey, Cloud! There's something I wanted to ask you. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us?"

"None." He said. "I'm positive."

"You sound pretty sure."

"If there was anyone from SOLDIER, you wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Don't think you're so bad just because you were in SOLDIER." Barret tried to attack him as he walked away, but Biggs held him down and was tossed to the ceiling. "......" Yuna sighed and leaned back.

"Yeah, you're strong," Barret said. "Probably all those guys in SOLDIER are. But don't forget your skinny but is working for AVALANCHE now! Don't get any idea about hanging onto Shin-Ra."

"Staying with Shin-Ra?" Cloud said. "You asked me a question and I answered it... that's all. I'm going upstairs. I want to talk about my money." As he turned around, he was stopped by a familiar black haired girl. Yuna watched as Tifa had gone downstairs to be with Cloud, she stood in front of him and said, "Wait, Cloud!"

Tifa turned to Cloud, hoping to catch up on past memories, but Barret said, "Tifa! Let him go! Looks like he misses the Shin-Ra!"

Yuna jumped and gasped when Cloud turned to Barret and shouted angrily, "Shut up! I don't care about Shin-Ra or SOLDIER!" He calmed down when he turned to Tifa, "But don't get me wrong! I don't care about the world or AVALANCHE either!" He went upstairs, Yuna looked toward Tifa, she seemed really worried, as if there was something she knew was wrong. The two women followed him upstairs to see him walking toward the door.

"Cloud, listen!" Tifa shouted, trying to get his attention. "I'm asking you! Please join us!"

"Sorry Tifa...." he whispered. Tifa said, feeling tears form in her eyes, "The Planet is dying. Slowly but surely it's dying. Someone has to do something!"

"So let Barret and his buddies do something about it. It's got nothing to do with me." Cloud said, and continued toward the door. When Tifa saw that, Tifa shouted, tears streaming down her face, "So!! You're really leaving?! You're just going to walk out ignoring your childhood friend?!"

Cloud turned to her and asked, "How can you say that?"

"You forgot the promise, too...." Tifa softly said, when he asked, "Promise?" Tifa grew angrier, and shouted, "So you DID forget!"

Calming down, Tifa looked up at him and said, "Remember, Cloud.... It was seven years ago....." While the two of them were reminiscing of their past, Yuna thought of her pilgrimage and when he showed her his father's famous blitzball move.

~Flashback, Yuna's P.O.V.~

_I stood on the deck of the boat that took me and my guardians to the port city of Luca, Tidus walked to a blitzball on the deck, kicking it up in the air. I watched as he flipped himself and kicked the ball across the deck, you could barely see it anymore. I smiled as he landed._

"_That was the Jecht Shot, wasn't it?" I asked him and he was surprised. "How do you know that?"_

_"Sir Jecht showed it to me when I was a child. He called it the "Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III." I tried not to laugh as Tidus sat on the side of the boat. "Stupid name, huh? You know what? There is no Mark I or Mark II, you know? My old man said the name Mark III was just something to hook the crowd. He said they'd come back every night expecting to see Mark I and Mark II. And, they really did come back. I used to get so mad." He explained to me as I giggled._

_"Is he alive, you think?" Tidus asked me. I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know. But, Sir Jecht was my father's guardian." I replied._

_"So he's famous here, too?" He asked again and I nodded. "Yes. So if anything happened to him, I should think word would get around fast."_

_"Uh-huh." He said thoughtfully and I stared at him. "What would you do, if you found him?" I asked him._

_"Who knows? I thought he died ten years ago. Well...I'd probably just smack him one. After everything he put Mom and me through. And because he was famous, I was always... Well, you should know, Yuna. Your father's famous, too. Everyone in Spira knows him, right? Ain't it tough?" He asked me again as I nodded. "It is hard to follow in his footsteps, as a summoner. But the honor of having a father like him surpasses all that, I think."_

_"Well, there wasn't much to honor about my old man, that's for sure." He said and I gasped. "You shouldn't say that about your father!" I said and Tidus stared at me. "I got the right!" and I thought about it._

_"I guess you do." I said a bit sadly._

~End of Flashback, Yuna's P.O.V.~

"You remember now, don't you?" Tifa asked, weeping her eyes. "Our promise...." Yuna stared at them, her memory still fresh in her mind.

"I'm not a hero and I'm not famous," Cloud said. "I couldn't keep.... the promise."

"But you got your childhood dream, didn't you? You joined SOLDIER." Despite it was because both of SOLDIER and Sephiroth lost her home and her father, she was still happy for him. "So, come on, you've got to keep your promise!"

"Wait a sec big-time SOLDIER!" Barret had appeared and came up behind Yuna. "A promise is a promise! Here!" Tifa got out of the way as he tossed him a big of gil and gave Yuna a bag of gil, Cloud asked, "This is my pay? Don't make me laugh!"

Tifa gasped and turned to Cloud, asking, "What?! Then you'll....." Yuna smiled, she knew as well as Tifa what Cloud had decided.

"You got the next mission lined up?" he asked. "I'll do it for 3000 gil."

"What?!" Barret shouted, Tifa whispered into his ear, "It's ok, it's ok! We were really hurting for help, right?"

"That gil is for Marlene's schooling," he whispered to Tifa, then turned to Cloud, "2000!"

Tifa walked over to Cloud, smiling, and said, "Thanks, Cloud!"

After that, everyone rested for the next mission, Yuna had an unusual dream when she slept. In it, she dreamt that she was back on Besaid; living as if she hadn't even began her journey. As she walked around, everyone acted as though there was no trance of the young man who appeared on their shores two years ago. For some reason, they acted as if the Al Bhed isn't exist, or that even Yevon wasn't around anymore. Yuna was worried about something, but she couldn't tell what it was. She began to look for the reason, but before she could find it, Tifa woke her up.

While Yuna checked her guns for full ammo, Tifa walked up to her and gave her a sphere. "This came early this morning for you. The person said it was really important that you have it." She left to prepare for the mission coming up for the day. Yuna decided to watch the sphere and gasped, the footage showed a young man with short blond hair kneeling over a flower patch somewhere. She could hear Aerith's voice, she sounded like she was having trouble handling the sphere recorder. Then she heard a very familiar voice, _"I wonder if she would enjoy this beauty too……"_ Afterwards, Yuna continued to check her guns, but was pondering about the sphere. She sighed and changed to Warrior, swinging the Brotherhood, the sword he once used on her pilgrimage.

Then everyone all waited for Cloud to come, and he came up on the pinball machine. He went over to Barret first, he said, "Our target is the Sector 5 Reactor. Head for the station first. I'll fill you in on the train. Hey! Cloud! Before the next mission, there's something I want to ask you. I don't really know how to use materia! I'll give you the materia you found, just explain to me how to use it!"

"You wouldn't understand," Cloud told him with a sigh. Yuna stared at the small crystal orbs she was given, she wondered what was so complicated about these small orbs.

"What?!" Barret shouted. "So this is what those guys in SOLDIER so great, huh?! Alright, I'll ask Jessie again later. But you're in charge of the materia!"

"I'm going this time!" Tifa shouted, she sounded like she really wanted to help them.

"What?" Barret asked, Tifa seemed to have just remembered something and said, "Cloud! I got a message from the Weapon Shop man upstairs. He has something he really wants to give you. Don't forget!"

"Marlene, you watch the shop while we're gone, 'kay?" Tifa said, turning to Barret's young daughter, a young girl who was working behind the bar counter, she replied, "All right. Good luck!" Yuna wondered where Barret found such a cute little girl to take care of. The group headed for the exit.

Once they had exited Final Heaven, Yuna saw something and saw Cloud had grabbed Tifa's hand, Yuna smiled while Tifa blushed as she headed out to start the mission, she prayed silently, 'Please, let the mission go through safely. And please, let me find the one I'm searching for.'

* * *

Next chapter: The mission begins, Cloud and Aerith meet again, Elmyra confesses to Yuna about Tidus and gives her the sphere of Shuyin and Lenne's final moments, Wall Market, and finally, Miss Cloud! Also be on the lookout for another Gullwings adventure, where the Gullwings head to Gaia and meet a certain monkey tailed thief: Melodies of the Gullwings.


	3. The Warrior's Promise

Oh my, what's this? A new chapter! You betcha! Right now, all I can say about Seymour's role in the story will be quite mysterious and revealed throughout the story. Anyway, I wrote possibly one of the most funnest and most disturbing side-quests in all FF history! Shuyin and Lenne will appear later in the story along with a well-known guardian and a younger sibling mention in X. I know I'm mad, having not introduced Rikku or Paine yet, but they'll show, so don't worry. Characters belong to Square-Enix, not me! But oh, I wish they were!

* * *

Chapter 3 The Warrior's Promise

While Cloud and Barret went into the weapon shop, Yuna and Tifa waited for them, since they already had their own weapons with Yuna's different weapons in her dresspheres and Tifa had a pair of simple red fighting gloves, and waited for the boys to get theirs.

"Hey, Yuna," Tifa said, hoping to start a conversation. "I was told that you joined us to find a person who you hold dear. Is it true?"

"Yeah, that's true……." Yuna told her, looking away with a sad look. "He suddenly disappeared from my life two years ago and when Kimahri found this sphere, I believed he was still there out somewhere."

Tifa stared at her in surprise, she had a crush on Cloud but she couldn't possibly imagine what Yuna was going through. But soon the boys came out with their new weapons and the group headed for the station, Cloud had grabbed Tifa's hand again and Tifa softly blushed, smiling. Yuna smiled, she was the only one who knew the feelings Tifa had right now since two years ago she had someone special to her. Thinking of him, Yuna sighed and followed the rebel group to the train station.

They got to the station and broaded, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge were sitting down, ready to relax when axel shouted, "YO! Looks like this ain't not private car! So split up!"

As they ran off into the next car, Yuna and Tifa noticed an Shin-Ra official in the car and wondered what he was doing, he walked off and whispered to himself, "....hoodblums again. God, don't I just have all the luck....." and then he sat down as Barret ran up to him.

"You say somthin'?" he asked. "I said, 'you say sumthin'?" He walked in front of the official, "Yo, look at that! It got empty alluva sudden. What's goin' on?"

"DAMN!" the official shouted. "I.... it's empty of.... g... guys like you...." then Barret hit him and he shouted, "Y..Y.... YIPES! You.... you've seen the news, right? AVALANCHE says there'll be more bombings. Only devoted employees like me would go to Midgar on a day like today."

Tifa sighed when Barret tried to get into a fighting stance, everyone in AVALANCHE, even including Yuna although she was a new member, knew that Tifa was the only martial artist in the group, he shouted, "You workin' for Shin-Ra?"

That made the official cower in fear, he ducked and covered his head, "I won't give into violence..... And I won't give you my seat either..." Yuna watched Tifa run up to Barret and shouted, "Barret!"

Yuna sighed and smiled when he said, "&$#%! You lucky ^$#^$.!" They walked back to the others and Cloud asked, "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Carp!" Barret shouted, causing Yuna and Tifa both to sigh. "The hell you so calm about? You bustin' up my rhythm...." The train whistle blew and the train began to move, Yuna tried to retain her balance while Tifa smiled, "Seems like they just finished connecting the cars. We're finally leaving."

After a bit of silence, Cloud asked, "So what's our next target?" With a grunt, Barret said, ""Hah! Listen to Mr. Serious-about-his work! Awright.... I'll tell ya! Jessie's probably already told you, but there's a security check point at the top plate. It's an ID scan system checkin' all the trains." Tifa continued the statement, "Which Shin-Ra is very proud of."

"We can't use our fake IDs anymore...." Barret said, the group heard the annoucer speak, _"Good morning, and welcome to Shin-Ra lines. Arrival time at Sector 4 will be 11:45."_

"That means we've got three more minutes until the ID check point....." Tifa said, worried about what was going to happen. Yuna sighed and looked out the window, Barret said, running forward, "Alright, in three minutes, we're jumpin' off this train! Got it?"

He sat down, Yuna and Tifa ran to the railroad map, Tifa shouted to Cloud, "Cloud, come over here! Let's look at the Railroad Map Monitor!"

When he came over, he didn't look too impressed, Tifa just smiled said, "Hmm, it looks like you've seen this already..... It's all right. Come a little closer." He did, Tifa blushed and slowly moved her hand to his when a red light started to flash, Yuna looked up and said, "That's odd. The ID Check Point is supposed to be further down."

The annoucer spoke again, '_Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed..... A search of all cars will be conducted! Repeat! Type A Security Alert! Unidentified passengers confirmed..... A search of all will be conducted!'_

"What's happening?" Yuna asked, grabbing ahold of the Brotherhood. Barret asked, "What's goin' on?" Jessie rushed in, she looked really worried, she told them, "We're in trouble. I'll explain later. Hurry! Get to the next car!"

Barret didn't look too happy at that, he shouted, "^%#%! Someone blew it......." The group heard the announcement again, _'Unidentified passengers located in Car #1. Preparing for Lock Down.' _

"Lets go!" Barret ordered. "Keep it up!" The group ran into the next car, _'Car #1: Locked Down. Upgrading to Level 2 warning.'_ "Hurry," Wedge told them, and Biggs told them, "They're gonna lock the door, sir!" _'Unidentified passengers located in Car #2 Preparing for Lock Down.'_ "Just run!" Jessie shouted. "Changing to Plan 2!"

They nodded and rushed into the next car, _'Car #2: Locked Down. Upgrading to Warning Level 3'_ Just then, the lights stopped flashing. "Alwight," Barret said with a sigh. "We clear?"

"Not yet." Jessie told them. "They're starting another search. If we're caught, we're done for! But, don't worry. If we move up the train, car by car, we should get past it!" She broke through the door as lights started to flash again. The group reached Car #4, _'Car #4: Locked Down. Upgrading to maximum security alert!'  
_  
Barret ran to the front of the car, he turned to the group and shouted, "All right! We made it! Yo! This way!" He opened the door of the train, revealing what the group was pasting as the train moved. "Let's go! We're gonna dive outta here!"

"Scary... huh." Tifa said, turning to Cloud, he told her, "Too late to be saying that now. Why'd you come along anyway?" "Because..." Tifa felt her face turn red, she had almost forgotten why she had joined AVALANCHE in the first place.

"Hey you two! There ain't no time for that!" Barret shouted at them, Yuna stood next to him, they all got ready to jump, Jessie was disguised as a Shin-Ra soldier and walked up to Cloud, she smiled, "It's me, Jessie. How do I look, Cloud? Do I look good in a Shin-Ra uniform?"

"Just concentrate on our plan." He told her, Jessie nodded and agreed. "You're right, sorry." Tifa and Yuna agreed as well as she stood in the doorway, "Yeah! I've made up my mind. Watch closely. I'm gonna jump!" Tifa jumped out the door. Yuna stayed behind with Cloud, she turned to Barret, "You don't care if we go first?"

"A leader always stays till the end," he told them, "Don't worry 'bout me, just go!" As they moved to the door, Barret shouted, "Yo! Don't go gettin' your spikey-$$ hurt! It's only the beginnin' of the mission!" Cloud and Yuna jumped, Barret went to the door and turned to the others, "Later! You take care of the rest!" Barret jumped off as the rest of his team.

They landed in an underground subway, as the rest of them dusted themselves off, Barret grinned and said, "Good, so far everything's going as planned." He walked down a bit and turned to the others, "Better not let your guard down till we get to the Sector 5 reactor. Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie got everything ready for us. So MOVE it. Well, the reactor's just down this tunnel!"

They walked down the tunnel, until they had reached a grid of laser beams crossing the tunnel. "Those light beams are the Shinra's security sensors. We can't go any further." Tifa explained, Yuna looked around noticed a ventilation duct in the wall.

Barret stared at the duct, "That's one damn tiny hole. You tellin' me to squeeze into that to get under the Plate? No way! Yo, Cloud, what're we gonna do?" "Go down," Cloud said, but Barret began to complain, "But, damn man, that thing gives me the chills." So they climbed into the duct, Tifa explained they had entered the ventilation ducts and worked their way into the Reactor.

Along the way the group reunited with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. "Cloud, this way. The reactor's up this ladder." Biggs said, pointing to the ladder, Jessie said, "I'm sorry. The ID scan problem on the train was all my fault. I made your ID card special... So that's why it happened. I put my heart into making it. But I failed."

She shook her head and told Cloud, "Next time, I'll give you something more decent. I'll be back at the hideout in the research room workin' on it." "We're gonna pull out now," Wedge said. "We'll meet up at the hideout. Cloud, we're countin' on you to blow the reactor!" He left with Biggs and Jessie, the rest of the team worked their way deeper until they had reached the core.

Something went red in Cloud's head as Yuna saw as Cloud clutched his head and fall to his knees, Tifa grew worried. To Cloud, the area shifted as he hallucinated. He saw the inside of a Mako Reactor. Gears were spinning, on the floor laid a long, thin sword. He saw Tifa, as a younger girl, sometime between the promise and the present, kneeling on the floor. A man was laying before her, dead.

"Papa..." she whispered, staring at the body and realized something. "Sephiroth!" She sat up, looking ahead of her, realizing how her father died. "Sephiroth did this to you, didn't she!" She shook her fists and looked skyward, whispering, "Sephiroth.... SOLDIER... Mako Reactors... Shin-Ra... Everything!"

She rose; then, vehemently shouted, "I hate them all!" She picked up the sword on the floor and ran into the reactor core. Cloud came out of his hallucination as he was back in Reactor No. 5., Barret shouted. "Damn man, get a hold of yourself!"

Tifa knelt by Cloud's side, she asked him, "You all right?" He rose, and stared at her, a almost forgiving look was in his eyes. "......Tifa." He whispered. "Mmm?" Tifa wanted to know what he wanted to ask, but he turned away, "No... forget...... Come on, let's hurry!" Cloud planted a bomb in the reactor and they hurried out.

They reached a mechanism with three buttons, Tifa told Cloud and Barret, "Jessie said we all have to the buttons at once." They did so and a door opened, so they hurried through onto a walkway.

"This way!" Barret shouted, his way was blocked. "Shin-Ra soldiers! CRAP! What the hell's goin' on?" "...a trap..." Yuna whispered, sounding as if she had been through something like this before, they heard footsteps, then the sound of the Shin-Ra theme music.

Barret shouted, realizing something, "President Shinra?" "Why is the President here?" Tifa asked, the Shin-Ra President was walking onto the walkway, his expensive shoes echoing, behind him was a slightly older man with long lighting blue hair, Yuna gripped her weapon. "Hmm... So you all must be that... ...what was it?"

"AVALANCHE!" Barret shouted, loud enough for the president and his companion to hear. "And don't ya forget it! And you're President Shinra, huh?" Cloud stepped forward, Tifa and Yuna figured he would do that, he said, "Long time no see, President." "...Long time no see? Oh... you."

President Shinra smiled at him. "You're the one who quit WARRIOR and joined AVALANCHE. I knew you were exposed to Mako, from the glow in your eyes... Tell me, traitor... what were your name?"

"Cloud." Cloud said. President Shinra smiled and said, "Forgive me for asking, but I can't be expected to remember each person's name. Unless you become another Sephiroth. Yes, Sephiroth... He was brilliant. Perhaps too brilliant... Where are my manners? This is my adviser, Seymour Guado." There was silence, but Cloud looked shocked.

Cloud stepped back, almost terrified, he whispered, "Sephiroth.....?" Barret ran forward, he shouted, "Don't give a damn 'bout none of that! This place's goin' up with a big BANG soon! Serves y'all right!"

"And such a waste of good fireworks, just to get rid of vermin like you..." President Shinra said, almost like he was teasing them, Seymour grinned and nodded. Barret shouted, "VERMIN? That's all you can say... VERMIN! Y'all Shin-Ra're the VERMIN, killing the planet! And that makes you King VERMIN! So shu'up!"

"...You are beginning to bore me." President Shinra said, yawning. "I'm a very busy man, so if you'll excuse me... I have a dinner Seymour and I must attend." Barret ran right up to him, shouting, "Dinner! Don't gimme that! I ain't even started wit' you yet!"

"But, I've made arrangements for a playmate for you all." President Shinra snapped his fingers and the group began to hear something, Tifa gasped, "! What's that noise?" Barret ran back, looking around, "The hell is this!" A huge robot buzzed in and looked menacing, it had three patrollers on the top and the markings indicated it was created by Shin-Ra.

"Meet 'Airbuster,' a techno-soldier,. Our Weapon Development Department created him." President Shinra said. "I'm sure the data he'll extract from your dead bodies will be of great use to us in future experiments."

"...Techno-soldier?" Cloud whispered to himself. A helicopter hovered up to the walkway, President Shinra and Seymour walked toward it, "Now then, if you'll excuse us." Cloud ran forward, too late to intercept him. President Shinra and Seymour boarded the helicopter and flew away... leaving Cloud and the rest of the team alone with Airbuster.

"Wait, President!" Barret turned toward Airbuster, he shouted, "Yo, Cloud! We've gotta do somethin' about him!" Airbuster buzzed toward Tifa and Yuna, making them duck, Tifa shouted, "Help, Cloud!" Cloud ran in behind it, Yuna asked, "THIS is from WARRIOR?"

"No way! It's just a machine." Cloud told them, Airbuster began to spin, Barret shouted, "I don't care what it is! I'm gonna bust him up!" So the fight against Airbuster began, Tifa and Yuna were on one side of it, while Cloud and Barret were on the other side. Tifa began the fight by doing a beat rush on it, Yuna simply slashed at it while Barret shot his gun at it.

Cloud slashed at it with Yuna slashing at it.. Airbuster exploded, taking half the walkway with it. Cloud was left hanging from pieces of broken metal. It looked like a long way down.

"It's gonna blow! Let's go, Tifa!" Barret shouted, Tifa was watching as Cloud was holding to the pieces of metal, Tifa turned to axel and asked, "Barret! Can't you do something?" "Not a damn thing." He whispered, Tifa turned back to look at Cloud, she shouted, "Cloud! Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!"

"I know, Tifa......" he said, Barret shouted, "Hey, you gonna be awright?" "Be strong," Cloud said and he just sighed, ".......... You worry about yourselves! I'm all right, but take care of Tifa!"

"...Alright. Sorry 'bout all this." He said, Cloud shouted, "Stop talkin' like this is the end!" Right at that moment, the bomb exploded, knocking Cloud from the walkway. Tifa tried to grab him, but he was too far away, Barret comforted her at her failure. Tifa and Barret watched as Cloud plummeted from the upper plate down to the slums below, not noticing Yuna run off somewhere.

* * *

There was nothing but darkness, Cloud felt some pain and thought he heard a familiar voice to him as he saw a silhouette of a person,_' ...You all right? ...Can you hear me?' _".....Yeah....." Cloud answered, the voice said, _'Back then... You could get by with just skinned knees.....'_ "What do you mean by 'back then'?" _'What about now? Can you get up?' _".....What do you mean by 'that time'? .....What about now?" _'Don't worry about me. You just worry about yourself now.'_

".....I'll give it a try." He tried to move a part of his body and heard a new voice, "Oh! He moved!"' _'.....How about that? Take it slow now. Little by little.....'_ And the voice faded, the new voice asked, "Hello, hello?"

".....I know." Cloud whispered, and asked, "Hey... who are you?" "Hello, hello!" As Cloud tried to open his eyes, the same silhouette appeared, but as his focus became clear, it turned out to be Yuna kneeling over him. Cloud found out he was lying in the middle of a flower patch in the floor of an old church. The flower girl from before was kneeling next to Yuna as he woke up.

She stood up as Cloud managed to sit up. "You okay?" she asked. "This is a church in the Sector 5 slums. You suddenly fell on top of me. You really gave me quite a scare."

"......I came crashing down?" Cloud asked in confusion, the girl smiled and explained, "The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall. You're lucky." "Flower bed... is this yours?" Cloud asked, the three of them stood up and brushed his clothes off.

Cloud bowed at the girl, "Sorry about that." "That's all right. The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place." The girl said. "They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Midgar. But for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here. I love it here."

She began to tend to her flowers, she looked toward Cloud and smiled, ".....So, we meet again. Don't you remember me?" "Yeah, I remember... You were selling flowers." "Oh, I'm so happy!" The girl wore a big smile on her face. "Thanks for buying my flowers. Say, do you have any materia?" "Yes, some." Cloud replied, "Nowadays you can find materia anywhere."

"But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing." She told him with a smile. ".....good for nothing? You probably just don't know how to use it." Cloud said, the girl shook her head and said, "No, I do... it just doesn't do anything. I feel safe just having it. It was my mother's...."

She looked skyward and said, "Say, I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it? After all, here we are meeting again, right?" "We don't mind," the boy said, the girl nodded and said, "Wait here. I've got to check my flowers. It'll be just a minute."

She began to check her flowers, she said, "Just a little longer. Oh! Now that you mention it..... We don't know each other's names, do we? My name is.... I'm Aerith, the flower girl. Nice to meet you. I see you know Yuna as well, she is quite a unique person, huh?."

"The name's Cloud. Me.....? I do a little bit of everything." "Oh.... a jack of all trades." Aerith seemed amazed at his occupation, Cloud just smiled, "Yeah, I do whatever's needed."

Aerith giggled, Cloud asked with a smile on his face, "What's so funny? What are you laughing at?" "Sorry..... I just..." Aerith stopped and everyone turned to see a mysterious figure in the doorway of the church. Cloud tried to think about what just happened, he, Yuna, and the flower girl, Aerith, were in an old church. They had turned to see a mysterious figure in the doorway.

"Sorry, bad timing on my part." Aerith said, Cloud and Yuna began to move toward the person. "Cloud! Yuna! Don't let it get to you!" She stepped back, behind them, she asked Cloud, "Say, Cloud. Have you ever been a bodyguard? You DO do everything, right?" Cloud smoothed his hair and nodded, "Yeah, that's right."

"Then, get me out of here." Aerith ordered. "Take me home." "OK, I'll do it... but it'll cost you." "Well then, let's see......" Aerith thought for a moment, "How about if I go out with you once?" Cloud made an affirmative nod as he and Yuna confronted the person, "I don't know who you are, but...."

"You don't know me.....?"

_' ......I know you.'_

"Oh yeah...... I know you." Cloud stared at the uniform, "That uniform...." Three Shin-Ra guards ran in.".....Hey, sis, this one's a little weird." one said, Cloud shouted, "Shut up! You Shin-Ra spy!" "Reno! Want him taken out?" "I haven't decided yet." Reno said, Aerith shouted, "Don't fight here! You'll ruin the flowers!" Cloud, Yuna and Aerith ran to the back of the church, Aerith said, "The exit is back there."

They exited, and Reno walked forward, _OVER_ the flower patch... "They were..... Mako eyes. Yeah, all right. Back to work, back to work." He exited, "Oh!", Reno re-entered, "And don't step on the flowers......" The three guards spoke in unison, "Hey Reno, you just stepped on them! They're all ruined! You're gonna catch holy hell!"

Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith were in the back room of the church. It's three floors high, and a large Shin-Ra missile apparently crashed through them all, leaving gaping holes in them. They jumped past the missile and climbed a broken flight of stairs, reaching a break in the walkway.

"There they are, over there!" Reno shouted, he came in with the three guards. "Cloud... that one!" Yuna shouted, Cloud nodded, "I know... Looks like they aren't going to let us go." "What should we do?" "Well we can't let them catch us, can we? Then, there's only one thing left." He jumped across the gap with Yuna and motioned for Aerith to follow. "Aerith! This way!"

She shook her head and Cloud nodded, "All right. We'll hold them off." "Right. Make sure they don't get through!"

"The Ancients are getting away! Attack! Attack! Attack!" Reno ordered, the guards fire at Aerith who fell from the walkway. "Eaygh!" she shouted, Cloud and Yuna shouted at her, "Aerith!"

"Think we killed 'em? They shouldn't have put up a fight, I say!" Reno almost seemed to smiled, Aerith shouted, "Cloud, Yuna, help!" "Damn!" Cloud whispered while Yuna looked up to the rafters, "What's that...?" The three guards began to attack Aerith, Cloud and Yuna ran to the rafters and found four barrels.

They each pushed two barrel off, squashing each guard. "Thanks, Yuna, Cloud." Aerith said, she ran up to the rafters. "Aerith, this way." Cloud whispered, he and Yuna ran across the rafters, Aerith followed Cloud and Yuna. They found a hole in the roof of the church and jumped out to the outside.

Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith were sitting on the roof of the old church Aerith goes to, Aerith laughed, "Ha, ha..... They're looking for me and Yuna again." "You mean it's not the first time they've been after you?" Cloud asked, she shook her head,"...no." "They're the Turks." Cloud said, Aerith stared at him, confused, "Hmmm......"

"The Turks are an organization in Shin-Ra. They scout for possible candidates for SOLDIER." Cloud explained, Aerith asked, surprised, "This violently? I thought they were kidnapping someone."

"They're also involved in a lot of dirty stuff on the side." Cloud added, "Spying, murder... you know." "They do look like it." Yuna said, Cloud looked at Aerith and asked, "But, why're they after you and Yuna? There must be a reason, right?" "No, not really. I think they believe we have what it takes to be in SOLDIER!" Aerith said, Cloud smiled and said, "Maybe you do. You want to join?" "I don't know... But I don't want to get caught by THOSE people!"

"Then, let's go!" Cloud said, he and Yuna stood up and left, Aerith followed them. They jumped across many rooftops and pieces of debris, heading away from the church. The two of them got far ahead of her, she shouted, "Wait... Wait, I said!" She caught up, carefully, femininely judging each gap, "Puff... wheeze... Slow.... down.... Don't leave me...."

"Funny..." Cloud said, sarcastically. "I thought at least you were cut out to be in SOLDIER?" "Oh! You're terrible!" Aerith said, Yuna laughed, Aerith asked, "Hey.... Cloud. Were you ever in SOLDIER?" "....." Cloud sighed,"...I used to be. How did you guess?" "...Your eyes. I noticed it with Yuna. They have a strange glow..."

"That's the sign of those who have been infused with Mako... A mark of SOLDIER. But, how did you know about that?" "........Oh, nothing." "Nothing....?" "Right, nothing! Come on, let's go! Bodyguard!" Cloud and Yuna continued across the rooftops, Aerith followed, more closely this time.

Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith hopped down from the rooftops across pieces of debris, they landed on a dirt road, Aerith smiled, "Whew! Finally made it off! Now what..." She looked around, then scampered forward, "My house is over here. Let's hurry before they get here!" Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith traveled through the Sector 5 slums to Aerith's small cottage.

It was a two story cottage in a valley-like area, they went inside, Aerith shouted, "I'm home, mom." Her mother, Elymra, walked over, Aerith introduced Cloud to her mother, "This is Cloud, my bodyguard." "Bodyguard.....? You mean you were followed again!" Elymra looked worried about her daughter just told her. "Are you all right! You're not hurt, are you!"

"I'm all right. I had Cloud and Yuna with me." Aerith said, smiling, with a sigh, Elymra nodded and turned to Cloud and Yuna, "Thank you, Cloud, Yuna." She went upstairs, Aerith turned to the two, "So, what are you going to do now?" "...Is Sector 7 far from here? We'll want to go to Tifa's bar." Cloud said, Aerith asked, "Is Tifa...... a girl?" "Yeah." Cloud answered, Aerith teased, "A girl... friend?"

"Girlfriend?" Cloud looked deep red and shouted, "No way!" He shook his head quickly, Aerith laughed, "Hee hee hee.... You don't have to get THAT upset..." She moved toward Cloud... a small step, "Well, that's... nice. Let's see, Sector 7? I'll show you the way." "You gotta be kidding. Why do you want to put yourself in danger again?" "I'm used to it." Aerith said, Cloud shouted, "Used to it! ...Well, don't know... getting help from a girl..." She made an amusedly angry gesture, "A girl! What do you mean by that! You expect me to just sit by and listen, after hearing you say something like that!"

She called upstairs ,"Mom! I'm taking Cloud and Yuna to Sector 7. I'll be back in a while." Elymra came downstairs, she said worried, "But dear... I give up. You never listen once you've made up your mind. But if you must go, why don't you go tomorrow? It's getting late now."

"Yeah, you're right, mom." Aerith nodded, Elymra told her daughter, "Aerith, please go and make the bed." Aerith went upstairs while Cloud and Yuna spoke to Elymra. She stared into the eyes of Yuna and Cloud, "That glow in your eyes... you're from SOLDIER, Cloud, right?" "Yeah. Rather I used to be..." Cloud answered, Elymra sighed, ".... I don't know how to say this, but... Would you please leave here, tonight? Without telling Aerith."

While Cloud went upstairs, Elymra turned to Yuna, she sighed and said, "Yuna, I have something to tell you. You know that young man you're looking, he stayed with me and Aerith." Yuna gasped and nearly cried, she said to Elymra, "He was there?" Elymra nodded and told her the story, "About seven years ago, Aerith came home with a young man who had the strangest clothes and told the strangest story. At first, neither Aerith nor I believed him, but he was someone who needed a hand and we helped him adjust to life here. After awhile, he left and disappeared completely. He said he was going to find the one he loves the most. With you here, looks like his story is true." Elymra turned to the table and handed her two items, one was a bag and the other was a sphere. Yuna simply guessed that the bag was the rest of the dresspheres she would find and took both the bag and the sphere. She went upstairs and noticed Cloud and Aerith waiting for her, she told them, "You need to go through Sector 6 to get to Sector 7. Sector 6 is a little dangerous so you'd better get some rest tonight." Cloud and Yuna walked toward the bedroom door, Aerith softly said, "Cloud...."

He turned to her, she just smiled and said, "Good night," and went downstairs. Cloud sighed, "Oh, man..." After they entered the room, Cloud noticed how Yuna was holding the sphere, he asked, "That another clue to finding him?" "Maybe, let's watch." Yuna smiled and played the sphere, at first she saw the deadly Vegnagun, but a familiar man appeared on the screen, beginning to play a organ that appeared to be atop the weapon's head, the man almost seemed possessed playing the organ until a woman who resembled Yuna appeared, she shouted, "Stop! That's enough!" Immediately the man stopped and stared at her, until the guards came, the two ran into each others' arms and awaited their fate. Yuna sighed and tucked the sphere away, Cloud was the only one who went to bed, Yuna stayed up. He dreamed, as she presumed as she looked at him, he told her, "...seem pretty tired...... I haven't slept in a bed like this ....in a long time. ....Oh, yeah. Ever since that time."

The scene of Yuna watching faded away; Cloud was now lying on a bed in a one-room house. A woman was in the room, working in the kitchen area. She stopped and walked toward him, she smiled, "My, how you've grown. I'll bet the girls never leave you alone."

"...Not really." Cloud said, she paced a bit and told him, "...I'm worried about you. There are a lot of temptations in the city... I'd feel a lot better if you just settled down and had a nice girlfriend." "...I'm all right." "You should have... an older girlfriend, one that'll take care of you. I think that would be the perfect type for you." "I'm not interested." The scene faded away and Cloud was lying on a bed on the second floor of Aerith's house.

Aerith was in the next room, Yuna was ready to leave, Cloud sighed, "...I must've fallen asleep." He got up and joined Yuna, he said to himself, "Sector 7's past Sector 6... We should be all right by ourselves..." The two sneaked past Aerith's room and went downstairs. They exited the house, leaving Aerith behind. Cloud and Yuna walked through the sector and on the way out of the city, the two ran into Aerith. Cloud looked startled, Aerith said with a smile, "You're up bright and early." "How could I ask you to go along when I knew it would be dangerous?" he asked.

"Are you done?" she asked him, Yuna giggled as Cloud smoothed his hair, Aerith said, "You have to go through the slum in Sector 6 to get to Tifa's Seventh Heaven. I'll take you there. Come on!" Aerith ran out. Cloud and Yuna followed, Yuna thought there was a young man with spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes running with them. They crossed a highway that has been more or less demolished until they reached an old playground.

"The gate to Sector 7's in there." Aerith said, pointing to the gate, Cloud said, "Thanks. I guess this is goodbye. You gonna be all right going home?" "Oh no! 'Whatever will I do!' ...isn't that what you want me to say?" Aerith smiled at them, Cloud sighed and said to Yuna, "Let's take her to Sector 7." "I could do that. But won't I be in your way?" "What do you mean in the way?" "Nothing!"

Aerith put her hands behind her back and looked up at Cloud and Yuna, "Can we take a break?" She walked to a large, moogle-shaped children's slide, "I can't believe it's still here," she climbed to the top and ordered Cloud over, "Cloud, get over here!" He climbed up and sat beside her while Yuna sat on the slide, Yuna sighed sadly, Aerith noticed the sigh, "Something wrong, Yuna?" "Neither of you would have noticed a young man with spiky young hair and bright blue eyes running with us?" "Nope, sorry……" After awhile Aerith asked Cloud, "What rank were you?" "Rank?" Cloud asked, confused, she smiled. "You know, in SOLDIER." "Oh, I was... First Class."

"Just the same as him." Aerith smiled, Yuna asked, leaning back on the slide, "The same as who?" "My first boyfriend." "You were... serious?" "No. But I liked him for a while." "Cloud probably knew him. What was his name?" Aerith shook her head, "It doesn't really matter." The huge gate opened in the back and a large carriage drawn by a chocobo came out.

A woman was riding in the back, for some reason, she looked oddly familiar to Cloud and Yuna, she had long raven black hair in a ponytail and scarlet wine red eyes. Cloud noticed her, "Huh? Hey, back there....." He stood up and took a closer look, he gasped, "Tifa!" The carriage was driven out and the gate closed, Aerith looked in the direction of the carriage, "That girl in the cart was Tifa? Where was she going? She looked kind of odd..."

She hopped down and chased the cart, Yuna stood up and shouted, "Wait We'll go on alone! You go home!" But she didn't listen and continued to chase the carriage to its destination. Cloud shook his head and went after her with Yuna. Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith arrived in Wall Market, busy with the hustle and bustle of people. Aerith ran around, checking things out, "This place is scary in a lot of ways. Especially for a girl. So we've got to find Tifa fast."

They walked to a place called the Honey Bee Inn and Cloud approached the doorman, he asked, "You know a girl named Tifa?" "Hey, you're pretty fast. Tifa's our newest girl. But, unfortunately, she's having an interview right now. Here at the Honey Bee Inn, it's customary for all the new girls to be taken to Don Corneo's mansion. Don Corneo's a famous dilettante. Now he wants to settle down and is in the market for a bride. The Honey Bee Inn is a private club. Only members can go in. Shoo, shoo."

So Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith went and met the doorman outside of Don Corneo's mansion, he said, "This is the mansion of Don Corneo, the most powerful man in Wall Market. Look, the Don's not into men. So don't let me catch you around here again... Hey, and you got two more cute ones with you!" Aerith and Yuna pulled Cloud aside, Aerith said, "Hey, this looks like the burn's mansion. Yuna and I'll go take a look. We'll tell Tifa about you." Yuna shook her head no.

"No! You can't!" Cloud shouted, Aerith asked, "Why?" "You DO know... what kind of... place this is, don't you?" "Then, what are we supposed to do? You want to go in with us?" "Well being a man, that'll be pretty hard. Besides if we bust in there, it'll cause too much commotion."

Aerith was starting to giggle, as Cloud continued to say, "But, we just can't let you go in alone... Oh, man...... First, we'll need to find out if Tifa's alright.... What's so funny, Aerith?" "Cloud, why don't you dress up like a girl? It's the only way."

"WHAT!" Cloud shouted, but it was too late, Yuna was trying to hold in her laughter at the thought. They watched as Aerith went to speak to the doorman, she said, "Just wait. I've got some more cute friends I want to bring." "Aerith! I can't....." Cloud whispered, she turned to him, "You ARE worried about Tifa, aren't you? Then come on, hurry!"

First, they went to the dress shop and spoke to the clerk, Aerith said, "Excuse me! I'd like to get a dress." "Umm, it might take a little time. Will that be all right?" "What's the problem?" "Well, my father, the owner, has been in a slump lately. You see, he makes all the dresses." "And, where is your father?" "He's probably plastered at the bar." "So... You're saying we can't get a dress unless we do something about your father?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. He's caused so much trouble! You'd help me bring him back?" "Well, if don't do something, we don't get a dress, right?" "Really! Please help my crazy old dad. I just don't know what to do anymore...." "All right, we'll do something. Let's go, Cloud!" They headed to the bar and spoke to a man seated at the bar, Yuna asked, "Excuse us, are you the father of the girl at the Clothing Store?"

"I own the Clothes Shop... but I ain't your father." he said, Yuna said, "I didn't say that...." But it was completely drown out by Cloud saying, "Make me some clothes." "I don't make men's clothes. And I don't feel like makin' anything right now." "Cloud, what 'bout you wait over there for a second? Yuna and I'll try and talk to him. Why don't you go over there and have something to drink." Aerith told him

Cloud went to the bar and he did so, Yuna told the man, "You know, mister. He always said that just once, he'd like to dress up as a girl. So, that's why I wanted a cute dress for him..." "What! A tough lookin guy like that?" "So, how 'bout it? Will you make him one?" "...might be interesting. I was gettin' a little bored just makin' regular clothes." "Then you'll do it for us?"

"Yeah, all right. What kind of dress you want?" "Something... That feels soft. And something.... that shimmers." "Hmm, got it. Y'know I got a friend that has the same taste as him. I'll go talk to him." So they returned to the Dress Shop and spoke to the owner, the owner smiled. "Oh, you're here. It's ready. Go try it on."

Cloud was given the Silk Dress and looked like he was dreading this. He stepped into the dressing booth and everyone could hear scuffling sounds, Yuna sighed, Cloud said to himself, "How... do you put this thing on?" Aerith decided to look inside, Cloud, who had only gotten his shirt off, gasped, "Whoa! What are you doing!" "It's still not right. A wig! That's what you need!" She spoke to the owner, the owner said, "Umm, I thought you might, so I talked to my friend about getting one. You know the gym? You'll find a lot of people there like you. Go and talk to them."

Cloud came out of the dressing booth, in his normal clothes, he looked unsure about what Aerith said, "...'like you'? Aerith, what did you tell him?" "Does it matter? Anyhow, we got a pretty dress!" They traveled to the gym and spoke to the man watching the squat-thrust match. They only assumed it is a man; he appeared to be wearing women's clothes, "You the one.... Who wants to be cute?"

"Cute?" Cloud looked worried, Aerith nodded, "Right. And about the wig..." "Yeah, I heard. But it'll cost ya." A guy stopped working out and came over, "Urrrrgh! Big Bro! The only way you're gonna get cuter is if you can beat the Big Bro!"

The people doing squat thrusts jumped out of the ring, "That's right! So, you've got to compete with us!" "You're right. Let's do squats." "All right! We'll beat you out of this gym!" "Are you...?" Cloud began, Yuna and Aerith finished, "THE beautiful Bro?" The "Beautiful" Bro spoke to them, "What? You didn't know? Always running around here saying Big Bro' this, Big Bro' that.... Never mind that, come over here."

The squat thruster steps forward, "No. I'll explain the rules. From the ready position, squat, get up, and go back to the ready position. So it's squat, get up, and ready position in that order. Got it?" "Got it." "Whoever has the most squats at the end of 30 seconds gets the wig." "I'm not going to lose. Big Bro's wig is MINE!"

"Just be quiet... It's not fair for you to start right away. So, you want practice?" "Then, start practicing!" Cloud started to do squats for 30 seconds, "You had 20 squats. Now let's begin the real thing. Start!" Cloud and Work-Our boy began to do squats for 30 seconds. "He had 17 squats and you had 20 squats. You're really something. Okay, I'm a man of my word, here you are."

He gave Yuna the Blonde Wig- the sexiest wig as some of the people called it. Yuna sighed and put it away, the Big Bro began to get mad, ''I'm so mad I'm so so so--- mad!" Beautiful Bro punched him across the room, "Shut up! Don't cry just because you lost!"

"Uuuhh, Bro's fists of steel cut to the bone!" Everyone went to administer first aid to Big Bro. Cloud led Aerith and Yuna to the Materia shop and spoke to the owner, "Hey man. Got a minute? I need to talk... man to man."

"What is it?" Cloud asked, the owner smiled, "Really! I really appreciate it. ......I'm sorry but, young ladies? Would you turn the other way, for a second?" "Why.....?" Yuna asked, Cloud looked at her, "......Yuna." "Gosh!" Aerith crossed her arms and they turned around.

"I'm sorry, ladies. Now here's the thing. Do you know that vending machine in the inn? I'm itchin' to know what they're selling in it. I just can't ask a girl to go get it. What? Why don't I buy it myself? Well to tell you the truth, I got in a fight with the guy at the inn and can't go there anymore. Come on, so how 'bout it?" After the owner explained, Cloud thought for a moment and said, "I'll go." "Good, thanks. I'll be waitin' here when you're done."

"Finished?" Aerith asked, they turned around and they went to the inn and get a room there. Late that night, Cloud got out of bed and went to the vending machine in the hallway, Cloud asked himself "He means this?" Cloud sighed and brought the one for 200 Gil, dropping in the money. The next morning they went back to the Materia shop, Cloud said, "I got it." "Oh, really! Hey!"

"Geez." Aerith sighed, then she and Yuna turned around, the owner asked, "And, what was it?" Cloud handed the item to him. "A protein drink set. That jerk. I'm gonna do so much more business than him, his head'll spin. Thanks, bud. I'm motivated now. Take this, it's not much..."

He gave Cloud a Diamond Tiara, then Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith went to the Honeybee Inn. Some guy on the path there decided to give them a members Card. They went to speak to the bouncer. "Hey! Is that a 'Member's Card' I see shining in your hot little hand? Please, come in."

Yuna and Aerith waited outside as all the men around the Inn groveled to her... "...Hmm. That's how you'll fool them." Cloud grinned at them, Aerith repeated in a teasing tone, "......Hmmmmmmmmm. So that's how you fooled them."

"Let's go!" Cloud decided to go inside and a young girl came up to them. "Poo, I uh, mean, Sir... Hurry... Please choose a room. (Gosh, he's so weird... but then again, they all are.)" Cloud decided to take a peek through the keyholes of some occupied doors. Behind the first one, The Lovers Room.... "....Woooo...ow!"

He saw a Grandpa and Grandma...."...wheez.... Phew...." "What's wrong, Grandpa? You keep sighing." "...wheez... puff... You know, Grandma..." "You talking about this room?" "...whew... I know our son rented this for us and all, but.... It's too nice for us. Big round bed, gorgeous tub, I just can't get comfortable." "Don't worry about it. It's a high class neighborhood, in the Big City." "You keep complainin' and we'll get into trouble." "...wheez..."

Cloud peeked behind the other door, The Queen's Room... "...Wooo...ow!" he said sarcastically, a lightning flashes... a guy in a tub... another standing... one is dressed as a king. '...The wind's calm now.... It's the curse of the resurrected Satan... Our beloved Queen does not awaken... The time is ripe... A legend has been passed on through generations...'

"Psst... (Hey, shouldn't we stop him soon?)" "...whisper... whisper... (Wehave a luncheon with President Shinra...)" "Psst..... (You tell him.....)" "Psst.... (I can't tell him........)" "Psst.... (Come on! Oh, well....)" 'A legend has been passed on through generations.... .....the sought after Promised Land.... ' "Psst.... (I'm so disgusted with the President.)" ' ....One with Blue Eyes....' "Psst....(It's like this every time we have a business trip to Midgar.)" '.....and a Great White Sword on his back.....'

(We come all the way to Midgar, just for this....)" '.... Will not lead to the Promised Land.....' "Psst.... (What're you complaining about. You're just holding the lights. I've gotta wear this heavy armor!)" "Psst.... (I know, I know... but it's all part of the job.)" "Psst.... (Oh yeah, did you hear? The President's wife found out about this little hobby of his.)" "Psst... (Ha, ha.... No way, that's the first I've heard of it.)" "Psst... (Oh, looks like he's done. Man, I'm glad!)" "Geez! Mr. Prseident! I mean, Your Majesty..."

There were some smacking sounds. "Ohhh... I'm sorry. Please remove the ancient curse!" Cloud stopped peeking and decided to choose a room, they chose The Group Room..."I'll take this room." Cloud said, the bee nodded, "All right, Now all we have to do is enter the room. You're not going to have a change of heart, are you?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," Cloud said, the bee shoke, "Oh, don't be angry with me...(Geez.... this one' probably the violent type....) All right, please." Cloud entered the room, the Honeybee closed and locked the door behind them. "This way, please. Shall we begin? I guess since you chose this room, that would mean you... Hate being lonely?" "We're used to being alone, besides, I'm always alone." Cloud sighed after he said that.

"All right, all right. (...geez, you're so moody!) Come on, everyone's waiting." 'Everyone...?' Cloud looked in worry as there was knocking on the door, the Honeybee smiled, "Here they are. All right, everyone. One, two! One, two!" About seven or eight men clad in Spandex stampede in...."Yeah!" "One, two! One, two!"

One of the men, Mukki, shouted at the two shocked men, "Wassup! (Smile, smile, smile...)" "Oh man..." Cloud groaned, "What should I do...?" "I'm outta here," Cloud whispered, "I've got no time to mess around with you. Outta my way!"

"...heave... pant..." Apparently, Mukki was tired for something, "Don't be so embarrassed! Loosen up, bubby! heave... pant... Let's wash off all our sweat and dirt together!" "Wassup!" The men all moved in towards Cloud. The Honeybee looked up to the ceiling so that just the tops of their heads were seen out of her eyes. "Bubby! You're the intimate type, huh!" Mukki said, there were sounds of clothes being removed... "...heave... pant... Wow! Would ya look at that!" Mukki gasped for air, everyone all climbed into the tub.

Mukki asked, "Isn't bathing great...? It soothes your heart. How is it, bubby! Feels good, huh?" " ........." Cloud seemed too embarrassed, Cloud told him, "I don't feel good. Let me out..." "You'll get used to it. Try counting to ten." So Cloud started to count, "Ten... Nine..." "Hey bubby, how old are you?" "Eight... Twenty three..."

"You're less than half my age. I'm so jealous. So how 'bout it...? Do you wanna join my 'Young bubby's' group?" "Not interested. Seven... Six... Maybe in another life." "Well, if that's how you feel... too bad. We have a trip planned at a cabin out in the country." "Five... Four... Three.... Two... One... Alright, that's ten. I'm gettin' out." "Why don't you stick around and play a bit? Daddy's so lonely..."

They all piled out, Mukki turned to Cloud, "Bubby! This is important to me. Here's a memento of our time together!" He gave Cloud a pair of Bikini Briefs, as he left, he shouted, "Hope we meet again!"

The men all ran out of the room, leaving Cloud holding the Bikini Briefs with a look of shock and disbelief, Cloud looked at the underwear, "This is SOME underwear.... I'm supposed to wear this...? Well, if it's to save Tifa ... I guess there's no way around." Cloud then left the room, as he left the Honeybee Inn, the bouncer noticed he, he reminded he, "Uh, sir! It's almost closing time... So, please remember any personal belongings."

The people outside the Inn were ogling Yuna and Aerith, one said, "Uuuuuh! I want flowers too! But, I get so nervous in front of cute girls... It just seems more natural to get cautious..." "Hey! Cloud!" Aerith shouted, then everyone scattered and Yuna and Aerith rejoined Cloud. They went down to the cafe and sat down, the barkeeper asked, "Yes, what will you have?"

"Hmm..." Cloud decided to have the Today's Special, the barkeeper nodded, "One Today's Special. Comin' up! In this store, you pay first. It'll be 70 Gil." Yuna paid the meal, the barkeeper smiled, "Thank you. Just a second." He gave Cloud a plate, "There you go. Enjoy."

So Cloud ate the special, he said, "It was all right." The barkeeper nodded, "Thank you. Here's an item coupon for the Pharmacy. You can exchange it for one item there. We're out of coupons, so we stopped giving them away. Watch for our NEXT promotion!"

He gave Cloud the item coupon, they went to the Pharmacy and spoke to the clerk. "Whoa! Why don't you say something, if you're standing there? Oh, you have a coupon. Then please select any one medicine you like." Cloud decided the digestive, the clerk nodded, "Here you are."

He gave him the digestive, and they went to the bar and spoke to the guy in the bathroom, "HEY... someone's IN here... Don't look! What... urk..." Cloud gave her medicine, "Huh? You'll really give me some? Thanks. Phew, I feel better now. This is for your kindness." She gave Yuna the Sexy Cologne, then the trio went to the Dress Shop.

"Aren't you going to change?" Aerith asked, Cloud groaned, "Okay... I'm ready." So he stepped into the dressing booth and started to get dressed. He stepped out of the booth in a sparkling long sleeved purple dress, wearing the tiara and the wig. Yuna looked surprised, he actually looked good.

"Hmm, not bad. This may be a new business for me." the clerk smiled, the girl nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Should we try it? Thanks for showing us something new. My father's got his motivation back now. So the dress is on the house."

"Walk more nicely like... this. Miss Cloud." Aerith put her hand on her hip and walked around, Cloud asked, "What do you mean 'nicely'?" He did a runway walk, doing the pose Aerith showed him. Aerith smiled, "Oh you're so cute, Miss Cloud. Aaah, I want one. Do you have one that'll look good on me too?"

"How's this?" Yuna asked, looking at one, the clerk looked at another, "How about that one?" "Father, what are you talking about? This one's much better." The girl picked a dress, her father shook his head, "No, what are you saying? This one." So Aerith picked a dress, she said, "...I want THIS one." Everyone was in the room was surprised, Aerith smiled, "I'm going to go change." She went to the dressing booth, then stopped and turned around."......No peeking!"

She changed into quite a provocative red dress, her hair came down in waves. "So? How do I look?" While Yuna nodded her approval, Cloud just shook his head, Aerith pouted, "Oh, you're no fun!" Yuna decided to change to Songstress to say she was asked by the Don to provide entertainment. Cloud and Aerith headed for the mansion, with Yuna behind them.

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Next Chapter: Tifa explains the truth of her mission, Don Corneo will pick a girl (you reviewers will decide who is the lucky lady), the dreaded bed scene, President Shinra's meeting with his staff, the sewer, the Train Graveyard, and the destruction of Sector 7.


	4. Melody of the Songstress's Heart

Hello, everyone! New chapter, up and ready! Yuna sings Eternal Love, from Final Fantasy XIII, the way all the people in Japan listen to it. I couldn't help myself, I was listening to it while I was writing this chapter, and with Yuna disguised in her Songstress dress to entertain the Don, I figure I'd put it before he chose a girl! Also, it was Tifa's assigned mission, the Don unfortunately chooses her... The cloaked person is the clerk from the last chapter with his true identity being revealed next chapter, and how many of you will be surprised to see Chappu, Wakka's younger brother, enter the story with a FFVII's version of the adorable Haro from the Gundam series. His Limit Breaks will generally revolve around using his Blitzball or his Haro, the Limit Breaks of Yuna and the Gullwings deal with their dresspheres. Characters belong to Square-Enix, Chappu's Haro belongs to me.

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Chapter 4 Melody of the Songstress' Heart

Miss Cloud, Yuna, and Aerith went to the Don's mansion and spoke to the doorman. "Damn! Your friend's hot, too! Come in, come in! Three ladies coming through!" So they entered the mansion, a receptionist spoke to them. "Hey, ladies. I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Wait here. Don't go wandering around..."

"Now's our chance. Let's find Tifa," Aerith said, Cloud and Yuna nodded and went upstairs and through a door, coming out in a torture chamber, Aerith followed. They saw Tifa there, dressed like... a slut, to be blunt about it. She wore a dark blue sleeveless short dress, with round matching earrings. Aerith walked up to her and tapped her shoulder, she turned around, Aerith smiled, "...Tifa? Nice to meet you. I'm Aerith. Cloud's told me a lot about you."

"...And you are? Hey you're the one with Cloud and Yuna in the park..." "Right, with Could and Yuna." "Oh..." "Don't worry. We just met. It's nothing." "What do you mean, 'Don't worry'... about what? No, don't misunderstand. Cloud and I grew up together. Nothing more." "Poor Cloud, having to stand here and listen to both of us call him nothing."

Aerith turned to Cloud, "Right, Cloud?" By this time, Tifa hadn't notice the person who Aerith and Yuna came with, she noticed the style of the 'hair' and gasped at the person, "Cloud?" She checked him out and realized it was her childhood friend, "? Cloud! Why are you dressed like that! And what are you doing here! Forget that, what happened to you after the fall! Are you hurt!" "Hey, give me a chance to explain. I'm dressed like this... because there was no other way to get in here. I'm all right. Aerith helped me out." "Oh, Aerith did..." "Tifa, explain. What are you doing in a place like this?" "Yeah, ummmm..."

"Ahem! I'll just plug my ears." Aerith told the two of them, walking to the other side of the room and did so, Yuna sighed and leaned against the table. The two friends turned to face each other, Tifa with a bit of a smile on her face, "I'm glad you're OK." "Thanks. What happened?" Cloud asked, Tifa sighed and began to explain, "When we got back from the Number 5 reactor, there was this weird man. So Barret caught him and squeezed some information out of him."

"That's when the Don's name popped up." "Right, Don Corneo, Barret told me to leave the lech alone... But something's been bothering me." "I see. So you wanted to get the story straight from Don Corneo's mouth." "So I made it here, but now I'm in a bind. Don Corneo is looking for a bride. Everyday, he gets three girls, chooses one of them, and then... ...and, well... Anyway, I have to be the girl... or I'm out for tonight."

Hearing this, Aerith turned around and looked at them, "Sorry... but I overheard... If you know the three girls, there's no problem, right?" "I guess so, but..." Tifa sounded nervous, but Aerith continued, "We have two here, right?" Cloud began to see where it was heading and shouted, "No, Aerith! I can't have you get involved." "Oh? So it's all right for Tifa to be in danger?" Aerith said, looking at Tifa, Cloud's face turned deep red as he continued, "No, I don't want Tifa in..."

Tifa walked up to Aerith, a worried expression on her face, "Is it all right?" The group started to walk out of the room together; Aerith smiled and told her, "I grew up in the slums... I'm used to danger." She turned to Tifa, "Do you trust me?" "Yes. Thanks, Ms. Aerith." "Call me Aerith." Aerith and Tifa smiled, shaking each other's hands, now confirming the new friendship that had been formed between them, then the group heard a voice from upstairs, "He-y!"

The receptionist was waiting at the top of the stairs. "It's time, ladies. The Don is waiting!" He went back upstairs. "I told ya not to wander around... I tell ya, women nowadays... Hurry up, will ya!" Cloud had a nervous look on his face as the group began to walk, he nervously said, "I probably don't need to ask but the other girl is... Me... right?" Aerith, Yuna, and Tifa began to laugh, Aerith started a sentence, "You're right, there was no need..." she faced Tifa, who finished it, "...to ask."

They all went upstairs to the Don's room, smiling at each other with a thought of getting out of there on their minds. Cloud, Tifa, Yuna, and Aerith entered the Don's room, the Don was rather a fat looking person, he was seated at a desk, with a flunky on either side; one of them said to the group, "All right, which one of you is the lovely singer who will sing for the Don!" Yuna nervously walked up and bowed, the Don smiled, "Please, sing for me before I make my choice."

Yuna sighed and gripped her microphone, taking a deep breath and beginning to sing in a different language, but somehow everyone understood her, _"__Anata to no ai ga kono mama zutto tsuzukimasu you ni__,__ yozora ni negau no kono te wa mada hanasenai__."_ Tifa was the only one who gasped since she was the only one hadn't heard Yuna singing yet. Aerith and Cloud smiled, listening to Yuna.

"_Nanigenai hibi kurikaeshiteta nanimo kowaku nakatta futari de ashita wo mukaerareru koto ga atarimae datta ne_," Yuna continued to sing, she wasn't sure why but the melody of the song she was singing kept echoing in her heart, it was as if someone else's emotions wanted to burst out at once. _"__tsuyoi hitomi ni mamorareteiru kono toki ga tomareba ii no ni__ takusan no hikari ni terasareta yokogao miteitai__."_

"_anata to no ai ga eien de aru you ni__,_" Yuna sang, thinking of her love, Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa blushed as they listened, _"__yozora ni negau no kono te wa mada hanasenai__."_ Even the Don and his flunkies were greatly impressed with Yuna. Yuna just kept wondering whose feelings she was singing about, she knew it wasn't her own, but the feeling of the person was the same as hers.

"_doushite mo amaete shimau motto otona ni naritai no ni__." _While they were listening to her, Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa thought about what Yuna was doing before she came to this world, searching for the mysterious man who she loved deeply, for what they were hearing, she missed him greatly. "_guchi toka yowane wo tokeru no wa anata shika inai kara_  
_ hajimete kisu wo shita ano toki no amai aji wo oboete iru yoima omoeba shiawase sugita no kamo ne__."_

_"Hoho wo nagareru namida ni kizukarenai you ni utsumuite ita no__,"_ Yuna began to cry, a transparent image of someone else appeared, this person looked like Yuna only with longer hair with different breads. Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa gasped, they noticed the image that took over Yuna's body, and apparently the Don and his flunkies were too busy drooling over Yuna that they didn't notice. _"'Aishiteru' anata no kotoba ga kasuka ni furueteta."_

_"Anata to no ai wo ushinaitakunai kara,"_ Yuna and the person who appeared began to sing together, no one seemed to notice a new figure walk in and place his hand on Yuna's, tightly gripping it. _"yozora ni chikau no kono te wa mou hanasanai."_

_"Anata to no ai ga eien de aru you ni yozora ni negau no kono te wa mada hanasenai,"_ Yuna sang loudly, noticing the hand covered her own and smiled, leaning against the person._ "Anata to no ai wo ushinaitakunai karayozora ni chikau no kono te wa mou hanasanai." _Yuna finished and bowed, the Don sighed dreamily and the flunky said, "Alright, you three get in a line!"

They lined up in a row in front of the Don, while Yuna stood off to the side with the person that appeared, "Hmmm! Good, splendid!" He jumped over his desk and checked out Aerith, "Now, let's see... Which girl should I choose? Hmm- hmm-!" He checked out Cloud, who seemed to face away, "This one?" He checked out Tifa, "Or this one?" He checked out Cloud again, "Woo-hoo, I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is..." The Don picked Tifa, grabbing her hand. "This little beauty!" "Fu, fu, fu... Be nice, Don." Tifa said, acting innocent, and then looked toward her friends, as Don told his flunkies, "You can have the other ones!" "Yes, sir! Thank you sir!" He turned to Tifa, "Well then, shall we go my pretty?", leading her into the bedroom...

One of Don's flunkies led Cloud, Yuna, and the person into the employee lounge, "Hey guys! We've got guests. We'll take REAL good care of you. This is all thanks to the big boss, Don Corneo!" "Heey! Three cheers for Don Corneo!" "Heh, heh... Well ladies, are we, uh, all ready?" The flunkies all started to chase Yuna and Cloud, who was starting to hate the fact he got caught up in the idea of dressing up as a girl. He went up to a flunky, who tried to hold him tenderly in his arms, "Hey... what's wrong? Want me to keep you company?"

"No... I'm flattered, but no thanks. Because..." "Because...?" "Because... I ain't INTERESTED in a buncha scrubs like you!" Cloud flung off his woman's clothes, revealing his muscular and manly SOLDIER uniform. Yuna changed to what looked a schoolgirl's uniform and stylized futuristic goggles; the person just crackled his knuckles and smiled.

"Wha... a MAN! God damn it! You think you can get away with this! Get him! Knock the crap out of him!" Cloud took out his sword and simply pointed it at them, angering the attendant, "Grr! C'mon, what's the matter with you good for nothings! All right now, COME ON! I'll show you how it's done!" Cloud, Yuna, and the person fought all the attendants that came at them and won, leaving the room. As they stepped out of the room, Cloud noticed the person's appearance and told Yuna, "Guess this guy isn't the person you're looking for." Yuna wondered what he meant and looked at the person, Cloud was right, although the hair style was similar, the person's hair color was red and he almost like someone Yuna knew.

Soon, realization hit her like a rock and she recognized the person, "Chappu! Is that you?" "Huh, no way, Yuna!" Chappu smiled at her. "Love to reminisce about old times, but there's a friend of yours that needs saving." Yuna gasped and nodded, the group was about to go in to the Don's room when Aerith screamed from the torture chamber. "No-! Help!" At once, Cloud, Yuna, and Chappu rushed down the stairs. "No-!"

"Ha ha ha... Wait, you!" It sounded like Kotch, one of Don Corneo's coons; the trio looked down and saw Kotch was comically chasing Aerith around in circles. Evenuatelly, Aerith ran up the stairs and Kotch followed her, when Aerith reached Cloud, Yuna, and Chappu at the top of the stairs, she kicked Kotch in the crotch. "I'm so sorry!" she said innocently, and turned around as Kotch lost his balance and flailed his arms..."oh, oh, oh..." with a kick from Chappu, he fell down the stairs, "heh, heh, heh..." Aerith noticed Chappu and smiled. "Nice to meet you." Before Chappu could introduce himself, Cloud shouted, "Aerith! We gotta help Tifa!" "Ye... yes, you're right... ...let's hurry!" Aerith nodded, and the group ran up the stairs to the Don's room...

Don Corneo and the girl he chose, a.k.a. Tifa, were, sitting in his extravagantly and tastelessly decorated bedroom. It smacked of 'Love Hotel'. "Woo-hoo! Come, come, don't be so shy..." The Don said, Tifa wondered how she got wrapped this mess and nervously said, "I know... But you know, Don Corneo, I'd like you to explain something before we start..." "Hm? Oh, you mean about THAT? Don't worry. I'm single. There, feel better now?" Placing her hand on her face, Tifa groaned and watched as he got up and, um, wiggled his hips, her face deep red, Tifa shouted, "No... I'm not asking about that... Wa... wait a minute! No, not yet!" He, uhm, wiggled again..."Come! Come! Aooooooh! I can't wait any longer! Here comes papa!"

Cloud, Yuna, Chappu, and Aerith broke in, turning to them; Tifa smiled and shouted, "Cloud!" The Don did a belly flop at Tifa, who timely hopped out of the way, and Don came down face first. He looked up, "Wha... what the hell? Who goes there?" "You still don't get it do you, Don Corneo?" Tifa said, sounding a bit pissed off as she took off her dress; somehow she had her normal clothes on under it. "Get what?" The Don was obviously confused as Aerith took off her dress, revealing her normal clothes underneath.

Cloud, Yuna, Chappu, Tifa, and Aerith were standing in Don Corneo's bedroom, Tifa said, "Shut up, we're asking the questions now... What did your assistants find out? Talk! If you don't tell us..." Cloud put a foot up on the bed, he said"...I'll chop them off." Don jumped, he shouted, "No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" "So... talk." Tifa said, the Don explained to them, "...I made 'em find out where the man with the gun-arm was. But that's what I was ordered to do." "By who?" "No-! If I told you that, I'd be killed!" "Talk! If you don't tell us..."

Aerith put her foot up on the bed this time and said, "...I'll rip them off." "Waaaaah-! It was Heidegger of Shinra! Heidegger, the head of Public Safety Maintenance!" the Don shouted loudly, Cloud pondered, "The head of Public Safety Maintenance?" Tifa asked the Don, "Did you say the Shinra! What are they up to! Talk! If you don't tell us..." Tifa put her foot up on the bed this time, looking at the Don seriously, "I'll smash them." "...You're serious, aren't you... ...ohboy, ohboy, ohboy. I'm not fooling around here either, you know. Shinra's trying to crush a small rebel group called AVALANCHE, and want to infiltrate their hideout. And they're really going to crush them... literally. By breaking the support holding up the plate above them." The Don told them, Yuna gasped and looked at Tifa, who stepped back, "Break the support!"

"You know what's going to happen? The plate'll go PING" Don Corneo said with a smile, "and everything's gonna go BAMMM! I heard their hideout's in the Sector 7 Slums... I'm just glad it's not here in Sector 6." "They're going to wipe out the Sector 7 Slums!" Tifa couldn't believe what she was hearing and turned to Cloud, "Cloud, will you come with me to Sector 7?" "Of course, Tifa." Cloud told her, and then the group stood at the foot of the bed, the Don shouted, "Just a second!" "Shut up!" Cloud told him, but the Don said, "No wait, it'll only take a second. How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?" "They're sure they'll win." "Woo-hoo! Right!"

The Don flipped a switch, then Cloud, Yuna, Chappu, Tifa, and Aerith fell through a trap door to the sewer below...

* * *

Heidegger approached President Shinra's desk in the Shinra building. Heidegger was a rather large man with a full grown black mustache, Seymour and a young man with short raven hair stood by the desk, there was another man present with the president, he had shoulder length spiky bright yellow hair and bright sea blue eyes, though unlike President Shinra, Seymour, the young man named Reeve, and Heidegger who all wore important looking suits, this young man wore a more military-style outfit, he had his back to the others, staring out the window. President Shinra asked, "How are the preparations going?"

"Ha, ha, ha! Smoothly, very smoothly! I assigned the Turks to this." Heidegger said, smiling brightly. Seymour sighed, "Mister Heidegger, though I'm glad you have assigned the Turk to such a task, can you quit that hideous laugh?" While Heidegger turned away from Seymour, Reeve shouted, "President! Are we really going to do this? Simply destroy a group with only a few members..." "What's the problem, Reeve? You want out?" Seymour smiled and turned to the Urban Development Department's head, Reeve shook his head, "...No. "But, as head of the Urban Development Department, I have been involved in the building and running of Midgar. That's why..." "Reeve, you should flush those personal problems in the morning!" Heidegger told him, but Reeve sighed, "The Mayor's against this anyway..."

Heidegger shrugged while Seymour simply chuckled and whispered, "That crazy fool….." "Mayor?" Heidegger said, not even hearing Seymour's words, "He just sits in his building all day feeding his face! You still call that a Mayor? Before I forget, Seymour, how is our little group of intruders going?" "If you must know, Mister Heidegger, Doctor Hojo had already begun his experimentation on the look-alike of our Weapon Maintenance Head here, he told me the experiments shouldn't take much…." Before he could finish, there was a very loud scream, it sounded like a male voice, while the president, Seymour, and Heidegger had a pleased look, and Reeve looked in the direction of the scream with a scared look, wondering the head of Shinra's Science Division Research Department was doing.

The man just smiled and sighed, looking out the window. "Sounds like the Science Department's Head is finished with the experiments." Seymour, President Shinra, Reeve, and Heidegger looked at him, noticing how similar he was to Hojo, not caring what happened to other people. Heidegger sighed and faced the President, saluting him, "Now if you'll excuse me sir!" He left, Reeve followed after him a few steps, and then stopped, his arm outstretched, President Shinra told him, "You're tired. Why don't you take a couple of days off and go somewhere."

Reeve exited the room, President Shinra smiled, "We'll destroy Sector 7 and report that AVALANCHE did it. Then we'll send in the rescue operation care of Shinra, Inc... Heh, heh, heh... this is perfect." While President Shinra was smiling about his plan to destroy AVALANCHE, Seymour walked to the man, during the little invasion; he was amazed to see how similar the man and the intruder looked alike, but despite how long they had been working for the president, there was still so much Seymour didn't know about the young Head of Weapon Maintenance. He said to him, "You know, you were very quiet during our little meeting." "I don't care what they do to that tiny rebel group, I'm only here to find the person I love," He said, Seymour smiled, turning around and walked away, before he left, he heard the man whisper, "Lenne…"

* * *

Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Yuna and Chappu fell down a chute, landing in a sewer. Chappu spit out some sewer in his mouth and grabbed two objects while Cloud got up and shook the sewer water out of his hair, then walked over to Aerith, holding his hand for her, "You alright?" Aerith stood up, smiling at him, "Yeah." He walked over to Tifa, doing the same thing for her, "You alright?" "Man! This is terrible." Tifa shouted, Chappu helped Yuna up and smiled, saying, "Well, the worst is over..." They heard a loud rumbling and Cloud looked around... "Maybe not..." Yuna said, readying herself. A monstrous looking creature appeared, everyone stood ready for attack, Yuna noticed that Chappu was the same stance as his older brother, only slightly different. While he held his weapon of attack, a blitzball, in his right hand, he had something over his left shoulder.

"Yuna, what is that thing?" Aerith shouted, Yuna scanned the monster, "This data says he's a pet of that Don Corneo." "Yuna, next time Aerith comes up with a crazy idea, try to talk me out of it," Cloud said to Yuna, she nodded as Chappu attacked, tossing his blitzball very hard at the creature. Tifa and Cloud attacked at the same time, Aerith cast a powerful Fire spell on it, as Yuna cast a spell called Mazer Eye on the creature. Chappu tossed his blitzball again with a smaller ball, with one last blast of Aerith's magic; the monster fell to the ground. Tifa sighed, "It's too late... Marlene... Barret... the people of the slums." "Don't give up, never give up hope. It's not easy to destroy the pillar, right?" Aerith said to her, hands on her hips.

Tifa smiled and nodded, "...Yeah... You're right! We still have time." They worked their way out of the sewer, arriving at the Train Graveyard, a vast wasteland of broken trains and rubble. Yuna looked around and shook, Aerith told her about this place. Chappu patted her shoulder, Yuna smiled at him, Cloud turned to Aerith, "Aerith. I got you mixed up in all of this..." "Don't tell me to go home." She told him, Yuna smiled as Tifa looked around, "Let's see... If we can just get past the trains that are lit up, we should be able to get out of here." The others nodded as they climbed over and through the trains in the Graveyard until they reached the Reactor Tower. Several people were milling around the base of it, and they heard noises of shooting from above. Tifa smiled and shouted, "We made it! The pillar's standing!" "Wait! You hear something... above us?" Cloud looked up with Yuna and Chappu; Aerith did the same with Tifa, wondering what they heard. "...gun fire?"

The group looked up to see the tower, slowly looking toward the plate, until they saw the top of the tower. Guns were blazing, at the top, they saw a flash of gunfire, and then someone fell twenty stories down to land at the base of the tower. It was Wedge, Yuna gasped and stared at the body, Cloud dashed over and knelt by him, gently picking him in his arms. "Wedge! You all right!" Yuna, who had followed him, was surprised at the sound of concern in Cloud's voice as she glimpsed at the member. Wedge weakly looked at him and smiled, "...Cloud... You remembered... my name. Barret's up top. ...help him... An' Cloud….. Yuna... Sorry, I wasn't any help." Yuna cried silently as Wedge closed his eyes for the final time, she quietly promised herself to perform a sending for him and looked at Cloud. Cloud, after a silent pause, set down Wedge and stood up, clenching a fist, "I'm going up! Aerith! You look after the survivors."

Tifa walked to Aerith, "Aerith, do me a favor. I have a bar called '7th Heaven' in this neighborhood. There's a little girl named Marlene there..." Aerith nodded, smiling and getting what Tifa was asking her, "Don't worry. I'll put her somewhere safe." "Take this with you," Chappu tossed her the other ball he used in the sewer, two small wings flapped on its head, it spoke in a mechanical voice, "Hello there, hello there!" "Haro, watch over her for us, alright?" Chappu asked it, it spoke, "You bet, you bet!" Tifa turned to the others and shouted, "It's dangerous here! Everyone get away from the pillar, quickly! Everyone get out of Sector 7!"

They all scattered as Cloud, Tifa, Chappu, and Yuna climbed the tower. Aerith looked up at them, gently holding the ball Chappu gave her, she shouted at them, "Don't worry, you let me handle this." Yuna nodded as she followed Cloud, Tifa, and Chappu. The group climbed the flights of stairs up the side of the tower, along the way; they met with Biggs, who was leaning over the railing, wounded badly as Wedge was. He slowly looked up and weakly smiled,

"Cloud... so you don't care... what happens... to the... Planet?" Cloud surprised everyone by saying, "Don't talk. You're wounded..." "Thanks, Cloud. ...don't worry 'bout me... Barret's... fighting up there. Go help him..." They continued up the tower, they met Jessie as well, who was lying on the stairs, also hurt badly as her two companions. Like Biggs, she looked up at Cloud and smiled weakly, "...Cloud... I'm glad... I could talk with you one last time."

"Don't say 'last'..." Cloud said to her, Jessie smiled and said weakly, "That's... all right... Because of our actions... many... people died... this probably... is our punishment..."

The group quietly left Jessie and reached the top of the tower, they saw Barret, who was fighting the numerous Shinra enemies by himself, Yuna cast a spell known as Teleportation to attack one of the enemies and that caught Barret's attention as he turned to Cloud, Chappu, and Tifa. He smiled, "Tifa! Cloud! You came! Be careful! They're attacking from the helicopter." "Better equip ourselves before they attack in full force!" Tifa said as everyone equipped themselves, and then she shouted, "Here they come!" A helicopter flew past, and Reno and a young man dropped from it. While Reno ran over to a mechanism on the side of the pillar and was about to press a few buttons on it, the man turned to Yuna, and gasped. Yuna gasped, it was the man from the two spheres she had, her outfit changed to the Songstress dress. The man smiled and spoke to her, "I finally found you…."

"Is that… really you?" Yuna asked him, hoping he was the one she was searching for, the man smiled and said, "It is me… Shuyin…. I waited so long, Lenne…." Yuna gasped and turned around, facing Chappu, she told the man named Shuyin, "But I'm not Lenne…." "Lenne, we disappeared together, but when I awoke, I was alone. I looked for you for so long, while I wandered, I realized something. Spira wasn't changed at all, everyone still fighting over nothing, dying like they used to. A thousand years have passed and they can't leave the hatred behind. I'm through waiting, I'll fix it. These worlds can continue to fail us, and what's worse, I failed to protect you. Vegnagun will make that all go away. And we'll fade again… together; help me do it, Lenne."

By this time, Shuyin walked up behind Yuna and touched her shoulder, as she thought to herself, 'Don't touch me…' He turned her around and hugged her; pyreflies began to fly around them. Reno and the others gasped at them, Yuna felt different as she thought to herself, 'Whose feelings are these? Lenne's…? Mine?' The two looked at each other and hugged again. Everyone watched until a black cloaked figure knocked Shuyin to the ground and landed in front of Yuna, the songstress dress disappearing back into the Psychic dress. She, Chappu, Cloud, Barret, and Tifa ran over.

"You're too late. Once I push this button..." Reno pushed the button, everyone heard a Beep, Reno smiled and said, "That's all, folks! Mission accomplished." "We have to disarm it! Cloud! Barret! Yuna! Chappu! Please!" Tifa shouted, Reno grinned and gripped his rod, "I can't have you do that. No one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks... Sorry, Yuna honey, but I won't go easy on you." "Don't expect you to do so," Yuna said as she prepared to fight by changing to Dark Knight. The fight began; Chappu and Barret hit Reno with their weapons, while Yuna, Cloud, and the stranger slashed at him. Tifa sent a punch to him, but Shuyin blocked the attack. "Reno, now!" he shouted, Reno grinned and nodded, "It's time." Shuyin and Reno jumped off the edge of the tower as Tifa ran over to the mechanism and tried to disarm the bomb, she shouted to Cloud, "Cloud! I don't know how to stop this! Try it!"

Cloud examined it, "It's not a normal time bomb." A helicopter hovered up to the side of the tower and a Turk, Tseng, popped his head out the side window. He smiled as he said, "That's right. You'll have a hard time disarming that one. It'll blow the second some stupid jerk touches it." "Please, stop it!" Tifa shouted, Tseng simply laughed, "Ha ha ha... Only a Shinra Executive can set up or disarm the Emergency Plate Release System." "Shut yer hole!" Barret shouted, beginning to fire on the helicopter, Tseng sighed, tossing Chappu his other ball and said, "I wouldn't try that... You just might make me injure our special guest." A woman in a pink dress raised her head up in the window, Yuna and Tifa gasped, both shouting, "Aerith!" "Oh, you know each other? How nice you could see each other one last time. You should thank me." Tseng said to them, Cloud asked, "What are you gonna do with Aerith?"

"I haven't decided. Our orders were to find and catch the last remaining Ancient. It's taken us a long time, but now I can finally report this to the President." He said, Aerith leaned over the side of the helicopter, she shouted, "Tifa, don't worry! She's all right!" Tseng slapped her back into the helicopter, really hard. "Aerith!" Tifa shouted, but Aerith leaned back out, she shouted, "Hurry and get out!" "Ha, ha, ha... Well, it should be starting right about now. Think you can escape in time?" Tseng said, as the helicopter flew away, and the pillar began to explode, sending chunks of flaming steel and concrete falling to the ground. "Once that plate starts coming down it's too late. We gotta hurry!" Tifa shouted, while the others looked around for a way out, Barret hopped up on the railing of the tower and grabbed a hanging wire.

"Yo, we can use this wire to get out!" He shouted, Tifa and Yuna climbed into Barret's lap, while Cloud, Chappu, and the stranger climbed up on his shoulders. The pillar explodes and the people in the slums panicked as the upper Plate came crashing down to crush their homes. Cloud, Tifa, Yuna, Chappu, the stranger, and Barret swung on the wire and barely escaped the falling plate as President Shinra watched it all from his office window in Shinra HQ, opera music blaring from the stereo.

* * *

I figured since Yuna entered the FFVII world by falling through Djose Temple hole, I should add the little scene between Yuna and Shuyin. Next chapter: Cloud, Tifa, and Barret witness their first Sending, Yuna reunites with a old friend, Chappu explains about his life in this world, Elyrma explains Aerith's origins, the planning of invasion to Shin-Ra HQ, the trip there, the flight of many stairs, the invasion, the introducation of Red XII, the capture, explanation of the Promised Land, and Yuna's reunition with Rikku, Paine, and another friend. Yup, Rikku and Paine will be appearing soon. A little treat, the english translation of Eternal Love:

So that my love with you would always continue this way  
I pray to the night sky, these hands cannot part

Those casual days were repeating, unafraid of anything  
Being able to welcome tomorrow together was something natural, right?  
Being protected by strong eyes, it would have been great if time could stop now  
I want to see the face illuminated by lots of lights

So that my love with you would be forever  
These hands which ask that of the night skies, still could not part

No matter what I do, I still take you for granted. And I wanted to grow up  
Because no one else can complain or grumble apart from you  
The first time we kissed; I still remember the sweet taste of that moment  
If I think about it now, I was probably too blessed

So that you would not notice the tears flowing on my cheek, I hung my head low  
"I love you" Your words quavered slightly

Because I don't want to part with my love with you  
I swear to the night sky, that these hands, could not part again

In order that my love with you would be forever  
I swear to the night sky, that these hands, would not part again  
Because I don't want to part with my love with you  
I swear to the night sky, that these hands, would not part again


	5. A White Mage's Healing Love

Hey, everyone! I'm not dead, and neither is this story! Just life has been knocking at my door, preventing me from further writing and school, the funeral of my aunt and other stuff. -hold Kero plushie- Anyway, I don't own any of this, expect Chappu's Haro. On to the story!

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Chapter 5 A White Mage's Healing Love

Yuna was the first one to come to in the playground. Everything had been demolished; shards of debris protruded grotesquely from the happy face of the children's slide; steam and pyreflies raised from the ground in several places. As Yuna looked around, she realized that the explosion killed many people in Sector 7, and knew there was one thing she had to do. She changed to White Mage and gripped her staff, then began to dance and twirled her staff in low sweeps and high arcs. Chappu and the others wake up and watched quietly, the stranger sighed sadly. The pyreflies surrounded Yuna as she danced, only Tifa thought that she looked beautiful as she danced, Cloud simply stared at her. As soon as Yuna ended the dance with one final sweep of her staff, Barret ran over to the pile of debris that was the gate to Sector 7, shouting, "Marlene! MAR-LE-NE!" He ran to one side, "Biggs!" He ran to the other side, "Wedge!" He ran back to the center, "Jessie!"

He punched the debris repeatedly with his only normal hand, shouting, "GOD DAMN IT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!" He stopped with his shoulders hitching, "What the hell's it all for! ARGGHHHH!" The stranger sighed, "Calm down, man." Barret and the others looked at him, Tifa asked, "Who are you?" The stranger lowered the hood, revealing the face of a older looking man with shoulder length raven black hair and bright red eyes, only Chappu and Yuna looked surprised, the stranger was one of her father's guardians, the legendary Sir Jecht. He hadn't changed at all, still wore the red headband around his forehead, the goatee around his lips, the multitude of scars on his face. Jecht felt the stares from Yuna and Chappu and smiled, "Hey there."

"Hey, Barret!" Cloud and Tifa were trying to get Barret's attention, "Barret!" "ARGGHHHH!" While Jecht cleaned out his ears from Barret's shouting, Cloud and Tifa ran up to him, Cloud shouted, "Hey!" "Barret, stop... Please stop, Barret." "URGHHHH!" Barret fired on the pile of debris, sweeping it with bullets... then stopped, and fell to his knees, he sobbed, "God damn..." He punched the ground; Yuna and Chappu calmly convince Barret to sit on the end of the slide. Cloud, Jecht, Haro, and Tifa stood nearby; Barret continued to sob, "Marlene..." Then Tifa realized something, she said, "... Barret...? Marlene is... I think Marlene is safe." Barret looked up, "...huh?" "Right before they took Aerith, she said, 'Don't worry, she's all right.' She was probably talking about Marlene." "She's right! She's right!" Haro shouted, right beside Cloud's foot and jumping up and down with his ears flapping. Barret stood up, "R, really!" "But..." "Biggs... Wedge... Jessie..." Barret sobbed, Cloud said, "All three of them were in the pillar."

"Think I don't know that?" He turned, not facing any of them. "But... we, all of us fought together." He sat on the slide again, "I don't wanna think of them as dead!" "And the other people in Sector 7." Tifa sighed, Barret held his head; "This is all screwed up! They destroyed an entire village just to get to us! They killed so many people..." "...are you saying it's our fault? Because AVALANCHE was here? Innocent people lost their lives because of us?" Barret stood up and shook his head. "No, Tifa! That ain't it! Hell no! It ain't us! It's the damn Shinra! It's never been nobody but The Shinra!" Cloud stepped back with Haro in his arms, facing away from Barret and Tifa and gave Chappu back Haro. Barret faced away and raised his arms. "They're evil and destroyin' our planet just to... build their power and line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill this planet!"

He turned around, "Our fight ain't never gonna be over until we get rid of them!" Tifa shook her head, "...I don't know." "What don't you know! You don't believe me?" "It's not that. I'm not sure about ... me. My feelings." Barret faced Cloud, whose back was still turned. "An' what about you?" Cloud looked up, still not turning, "...", then left the playground. Barret watched him leave, "Yo! Where's he think he's goin'?" Tifa and Yuna realized something and said together, "Oh! Aerith!" "Oh yeah, that girl. What's up with her?" Barret turned to Tifa, wondering about that girl they saw, Tifa sighed, "...I don't really know... But she's the one I left Marlene with." "Damn! Marlene!" Barret ran to the exit of the playground, then stopped and turned to Tifa, Yuna, Jecht, and Chappu. "Tifa. Yuna. There ain't no turnin' back now."

He left, Tifa and the others headed for the exit, but Tifa and Yuna stopped and looked back over their shoulders... then left, catching up to Cloud. Cloud was walking along the broken highway, away from the playground. "Cloud!"

He turned to see Barret, Tifa and the others run up. "Take me to Marlene!" Barret told him, Tifa asked, "You're going to help Aerith?" "Yeah... But before that, there's something I want to know." Cloud said, Tifa looked at him, worried, "What's that?" Cloud took a step forward, "It's about the Ancients." Something flashed white, as if lightning were striking in Cloud's mind, then went completely black as he heard a voice.

'_In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet!'_

Something flashed white again... then Cloud was back at the broken highway, he looked down and whispered, "Sephiroth...?" Cloud fell down. Tifa and Barret ran to him, Tifa asked, "Are you all right?" "Pull it together, man!" Barret said, Cloud rose. They all traveled to Aerith's house, on the way, Chappu explained that when he arrived in Midgar, he used to work for Shinra, making robots like Haro, but he was fired as his inventions weren't of use to Shinra. Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Yuna, Chappu, and Jecht arrived at Aerith's house. Aerith's mother, Elmyra, was standing inside, facing the wall. They walked over to her; Elmyra sighed and spoke, "Cloud... wasn't it?" She turned around, a sad look on her face. "It's about Aerith, isn't it?" Cloud bowed his head, "...Sorry. The Shinra have her." "I know. They took her from here." "They were here?" "That's what Aerith wanted..." "Why is Shinra after Aerith?"

Elmyra faced away, and sighed, "Aerith is an Ancient. The sole survivor." "...What did you say? But, aren't you her mother?" Barret asked, Elmyra sighed, "...Not her real mother. Oh... it must have been 15 years ago... ...during the war. My husband was sent to the front. Some far away place called Wutai. One day, I went to the station because I got a letter saying he was coming home on leave." Everyone tried to imagine the scene, a train whistle blew, and they could see the Sector 7 train station. A train was pulling into the station. The door opened, and bright light filled their minds. They watched various people getting off, greeted by their families... Elmyra stood near, watching the people getting off... Then the train door closed. She walked, afraid, to the conductor, who shook his head. She sat forlornly on the steps to the platform.

'_My husband never came back. I wonder if something happened to him? No, I'm sure his leave was just canceled. I went to the station everyday. Then, one day...' _

The group then tried to see a woman lying on the steps to the platform. A young girl was running around her, crying. Elmyra ran over and knelt by the woman. The young girl ran to her.

'_You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war. Her last words were, "Please take Aerith somewhere safe." My husband never came back. I had no child. I was probably lonely. So I decided to take her home with me.' _

The sound of a train whistle echoed in their ears ... then came the sound of Elmyra's voice again. _"Aerith and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk. She used to talk to me about everything." _

The group tried to imagine the living room some time in the past. Aerith as a young girl ran down the stairs, then tripped on the rug. Elmyra rose from the table, helped her up, hugged her, then Aerith scampered out the front door.

The living room disappeared from their minds.

_"She told me she escaped form some sort of research laboratory somewhere. And that her mother had already returned to the planet, so she wasn't lonely... and many other things._

The group found themselves back at the living room, in the present. "Returned to the planet?" Barret asked confused, Elmyra sighed, "I didn't know what she meant. I asked if she meant a star in the sky. But she said it was this planet... She was a mysterious child in many ways." She could hear Aerith's voice again, "Mom." Elmyra turned toward the stairs; she could see Aerith, as a young girl, run down the stairs. Elmyra spoke to the group in the present as she remembered Aerith spoke that day, "Please don't cry."

_"Aerith just blurted that out all of a sudden. When I asked her if something had happened..." _

"Someone dear to you has just died. His spirit was coming to see you, but he already returned to the planet."

_"At that time I didn't believe her." _

The living room disappeared from her mind as she sighed. _"But..."_ It appeared in the group's minds, Elmyra was sitting at the table, holding her head in her hands. Her shoulders were hitching.

_"Several days later... We received a notice saying my husband had died..." _

It disappeared from their minds and Elmyra's mind, as she continued to remember.

_"...and that's how it was. A lot had happened, but we were happy. Until one day..." _

The living room reappeared in their minds. Tseng was in the living room with Elmyra. "We want you to return Aerith to us. We've been searching for her for a long time." He said as Aerith peeked out from behind Elmyra, she shouted "No! Never!" "Aerith, you're a very special child. You are of special blood. Your real mother was an 'Ancient'." Tseng told her.

_"Of course I heard it. That she was an Ancient." _

"The Ancients will lead us to a land of supreme happiness. Aerith will be able to bring happiness to all those in the slums. That is why Shinra would like Aerith's cooperation..." Tseng said, as Aerith came out from behind Elmyra, she shook her head, "He's wrong! I'm not an Ancient! I'm not!" "But Aerith, surely you hear voices sometimes when you're all alone?" Tseng asked her, Aerith glared at him, "No, I don't!" Aerith ran out the front door. The living room disappeared from their minds.

_"But I knew. I knew about her mysterious powers... She tried so hard to hide it, so I acted as though I never noticed." _

Elmyra sighed and turned back to the group, Cloud put his hand to his chin in thought, "It's amazing how she's avoided the Shinra for all these years..." "The Shinra needed her. So I guess they wouldn't harm her." Elmyra said, Tifa looked worried, "But, why now..." "She brought a little girl here with her. On the way here, Tseng found them. She probably couldn't get away fast enough. She decided to go to the Shinra in exchange for the little girl's safety." Elmyra explained, as Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Yuna realized who she was talking, Cloud simply said, "Must be Marlene." "Marlene! Aerith was caught because of Marlene! I'm sorry. Marlene's my daughter. I'm ...really... sorry..." Barret bowed at Elmyra, who looked surprised.

"You're her father! How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that!" She asked him, shocked, Barret sighed, "...please don't start with that. I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marlene, if I... But you gotta understand somethin'... ...I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene... But I gotta fight. 'Cause if I don't... the planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fightin'! But, I'm worried 'bout Marlene. I really just wanna be with her... always. See? I'm goin' in circles, now." Elmyra smiled at him, "I think I understand what you're saying... She's upstairs asleep. Why don't you go and see her." Barret smiled back and went upstairs, Tifa bowed at Elymra this time, "It's my fault... I was the one who got Aerith involved in this." "Don't say that. Aerith doesn't think that." Elmyra smiled at her, and looked at Jecht. Cloud went upstairs, into the bedroom, where Barret was sitting with Marlene.

"I'm so glad... I'm so glad you're all right..." Barret held her close to him, Marlene smiled, "Daddy, don't cry. Your whiskers hurt!" Cloud got ready to leave the bedroom, but Barret stood up, he shouted, "Cloud!" Cloud turned around, Barret told him, "You gonna go help Aerith, right? She's done so much for me... If it's the Shinra you're dealin' with, I can't just sit here! I'm comin', too!" Marlene ran around Barret to Cloud, she smiled as she said, "Guess what? Guess what? Aerith was asking me lots of questions. Like what kind of person Cloud is. I bet she likes you, Cloud!" Cloud smiled back and ruffled Marlene's hair, "Let's hope so." "I won't tell Tifa." She said, making a pinky promise with him.

Cloud went to leave with Yuna, Chappu, and Jecht, Tifa asked, "You're going after Aerith, right?" "Yeah." He answered, Tifa said, "I'm going with you." "We're going right into Shinra headquarters. ...You gotta be prepared for the worst." "I know. Right now, I feel I have to push myself to the limit. If I stayed here... I'll go crazy." Barret ran downstairs, and spoke to Elmyra, "Sorry, but can you take care of Marlene a bit longer?" "Yes, I don't mind." Elmyra smiled, Barret told her, "This place is dangerous now. You better go somewhere else." "...You're right. But promise me that you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed." Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuna, Chappu, and Jecht left Aerith's house and stood in the yard, Tifa asked, "How do we get to the Shinra Building?" "There ain't no train that goes up there anymore... ... Well, let's just go to Wall Market. We might be able to find something there."

So Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuna, Chappu, and Jecht went to Wall Market, and went to the Weapon Shop to speak to the old man there, he asked, "You goin' up to the plate? You better have a battery." "You're gonna sell me something you just found?" Cloud asked, the man smiled, "Hey, you knew? But I repaired it, so it's all right." "Why do I need a battery to climb up to the plate?" "You'll find out when you get there. How 'bout 100 Gil for each?" "... All right, I'll take them." He gave them the Batteries, and they continued north. When they reached the Don's mansion, Yuna noticed two children, one said, "Wanna see something awesome? Follow me!" They followed the children to a large wall, a small girl was sitting at the base, and there was a power line running up the wall, one of the children said, "Everyone climbed up this wire. Looks scary... Brr."

"Can we climb it?" Tifa asked, the child nodded and said, "Yeah. It leads to the Upper World." "Awright! We'll climb this wire!" Barret said, excited, even Haro flipped his ears, Cloud said, "There's no way we can do this. You know how far it goes up?" "Uh, there IS a way! Look! What's that look like?" Jecht asked, Cloud turned to him and said, "Just a normal wire." "Oh yeah? Well to Barret it looks like a golden shiny wire of hope." Chappu said, putting Haro in a large bag, they peered up the wall, Tifa nodded and smiled, "You're right. This is the only way to save Aerith..." Cloud sweatdropped and sighed, "Ok, that was a bad analogy, but, Barret, I understand how you feel. Let's go!"

They climbed the wire... and climbed... and climbed... when they reached the top of the wall they saw the two children from earlier, sitting on the top, one of the children said, "Oh man! This is horrible..." "Hey, scary, huh? Dad told me that it's the Shinra's doing." The other said, with that, the group climbed some more... scaling power lines, broken propellers, and pieces of debris, until they reached the top, the Shinra Building. Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Yuna, Jecht and Chappu arrived at the foot of the Shinra Building.

"Hey, you oughta know this building well." Barret said to Cloud, "...Not really, now that I think about it. This's the first time I've ever been to the Headquarters." "I heard about this place before. Every floor above the 60th is special and not easy to get to even for employees. Must be where they took Aerith. The security's pretty light now. Alright, let's go!" Jecht said, everyone looked surprised before Barret ran toward the door, Tifa shouted, "Wait a second! You're not thinking of just going right through the main entrance, are you?" "Well what else does it look like! I'm gonna kick some Shinra butt and..." Barret was interrupted by Tifa, "That's not going to work! We've got to find another way..." "Ain't gonna be no other way! If we keep wastin' time like this, Aerith'll..." "I know that! But if we get caught here... Hey, Cloud. ...What should we do?"

"Let's sneak in quietly." Cloud simply said, Tifa smiled, "See? Let's be careful and find a different route!" They went down a side alley and go through a door. Inside, they found... stairs... Lots of them... They started climbing, Barret asked, "Yo... You really gonna take these stairs all the way up?" "Well we've got to get to Aerith to help her somehow." Tifa said, Barret sighed. "Talk about out of the way..." "I don't have time to argue with you! I'm going!" "Y, yo, Tifa! Don't go off alone!" They continued to climb... and climb... They were climbing stairs throughout this whole conversation:

"Don't know... why the hell... we gotta climb..." Barret said, exhausted, Cloud said, not as exhausted as his companions, "...because we don't want to start a commotion until we've saved Aerith. I doubt that's possible though..." "...heh heh heh." "Knock it off. You're giving me the creeps." "So even you will fight for someone else. I had you figured wrong I guess." "Who cares what you figured!" "I'm just sayin' mebbe I was wrong..." "Heh heh heh..." Tifa laughed a bit, Cloud looked at her, "What's that supposed to mean, Tifa?" "How much farther do these stairs go on?" Barret asked, Yuna asked, "Why don't you ask them?" "It's not one of them endless stairways or somethin', d'ya think?" "Of course not…" Jecht said, Barret sighed, "Right... couldn't be that... Are we there yet?" "Not yet." Tifa said, Barret asked again, "...there yet?" "Tifa said not yet!" Yuna shouted, Barret started to ask, "Yo..." "Look, don't even ask! We're way way way way far away from being there, ok!" Chappu shouted at him, with Haro echoing, "Not there yet! Not there yet!"

"Damn, man! I've had it! I'm going back!" Barret turned around, Jecht asked him, "And take just as long going down as you did coming up?" "..." Barret stopped to rest, panting, Tifa said, "C'mon, Barret. Pull it together!" "Yeah, well all I know is I'm just flesh 'n' blood... 'cept for this arm of mine. Don't treat me like I'm some ex-member of SOLDIER or somethin'..." "What about Yuna, Jecht, Chappu, and me! We're human too! Oh, do what you want, I'm going on!" She paused, "...? Yaah! Barret! You go first!" "What're ya ignorant? I didn't mean that..." "All right, all right!" Barret went on, Tifa turned to Cloud, "Cloud, you go on ahead too!" Cloud went ahead, Barret "Yo... What floor is this?" "...Yuna and I gave up counting." Tifa said, Barret shouted, "Why they gotta build these buildings so damn tall? That Shinra... They're just no damn good." "..."

"huff... Man, I'm beat... Marlene, Daddy wanted to see your face one more time..." Barret gasped for air, Tifa said, "Would you stop acting like a retard and climb? It's just a bit more! ...maybe." They reached the top floor, everyone caught their breath, Barret gasped, "F... finally... M... made it... N... never wanna see... no more stairs the rest of my life..." "huff... puff... this really takes it out of you... But this is it. We'd better get ready...!" Tifa cracked her knuckles; they entered the door at the top of the stairs...

Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuna, Jecht, and Chappu reached the 59th floor of the Shinra building. Three guards saw them, they shouted, "Destroy the intruders!" Chappu quickly knocked them out with Haro and his blitzball, Cloud spotted a tiny card on the floor where the guards had stood. "What's this?" He stooped and picked up the Keycard 60. They entered the elevator to the 60th floor; Barret said, "This is the real thing. Don't let your guard down." "I hope Aerith is all right." Tifa said, there was a guard asleep at the surveillance system. The group exited the elevator onto the 60th floor and saw two guards, "People like you don't belong here! Go on, get out!" "What're you doing here! No unauthorized people are allowed here!" They ducked into a side room and saw four guards on patrol. "Lookit that, all them guards is runnin' around. Cloud, you go on ahead and signal us when it's safe to come." Barret said, the guards were patrolling behind a row of statues, for some reason. Cloud hid behind each statue, moving forward when the guards looked away. He signaled the others to follow and made their way past the guards.

"Ok! We gonna rock!" Barret smiled, Tifa said, "Remember, we're here to save Aerith." "Hell, I know that!" They climbed the stairs to the 61st floor. It was an employee lounge; Jecht asked around and got the Keycard 62. They went up to the 62nd floor. It was the Mayor's floor. There were four rooms, full of bookshelves. Standing outside the Mayor's office was Hart, "How do you do? This is the Midgar Mayor's Office. Mayor Domino is in his office. I am the Deputy Mayor. If you should have any questions feel free to ask me..." They entered the office, "Hmm? Oh, and who might you be? You all must be those... ahem... Me? I'm Domino, the Mayor of Midgar. Actually, I'm Mayor in name only. The city and everything in it is really run by Shinra, Inc. My only real job is watching over Shinra's documents... Me! The Mayor! A librarian! Ohh... You want to get upstairs? I tell you what, if you can guess the password, I'll give you my keycard. Yes, that's it. Guess the password and I'll give you my keycard! Get it on the first try and I'll even throw in a special item!"

"Did you speak with the Mayor? What? A password? Oh, I get it... He's got way too much time on his hands. But you can't really blame him. Everything in Midgar is controlled by President Shinra. Maybe I can help you." Jecht paid him some gil, and everyone watched him, Chappu whispered to him that all of his round inventions were on this floor, so Jecht got started. He looked on the nameplates outside each of the four rooms. Yuna, Tifa, Chappu, and Cloud stood by the nameplate and told him what the subject of the rooms was. He entered the room and searched the bookshelves until he found a book whose title did not match the subject of the room. By looking at the number of each book you chose, he chose the letter of the title corresponding to that number. He returned to the Mayor, he said, "Got it? Then tell me." Jecht told him the password, it was BEST.

"BEST! God, I love the sound of that! BEST! I AM the best... ME! No matter what anyone else says, you'd better believe it. ...hmm. Well, ok. Here, take it." He gave Jecht Keycard 65, he smiled "I never thought you'd get it on the first try... Just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover. Oh well, a promise is a promise. Take this, too." He also gave him a Elemental Materia, he said, "Why would I do something like this, you ask? To mess with them, of course! Shinra's been torturing me forever. That's why I was a little rough on you all just now. Now go up there and really make them suffer. This ought to make us even! Heh heh heh..."

They went to the 63rd floor, a maze of doors and ventilation pipes and went to a computer terminal in the corner, "... beep...beep... ...verifying key card... ... Level B employee: verified. You are permitted to open doors on this floor up to three times. blip... If you receive an item coupon, remember to exchange it for an item. ...warning... refrain from entering the air conditioning ducts recklessly - they are very dangerous." Jecht decided to mess around with the doors awhile and enter the ducts, of course, until they got the three item coupons and went back to the terminal, "...bing... bing... Enter command" Chappu entered the Coupon Change command, "You can exchange your coupons for items. Here are the items you can have... A coupon...'Star Pendant', B coupon...'Four Slots', C coupon...'All Materia' Please use caution... once you have exchanged coupons for items, you may not use 'All Clear' function. Exchange coupon?"

"Yeah..." Cloud nodded, "... Coupon exchange complete." Jecht got the three items and gave Chappu his all of his inventions. The group went up to the 64th floor, the employee gym, where Chappu found a vending machine, "Take one to restore your energy!'Shinra Gym Special Drink' Only 250 Gil!" He decided to try it out, the machine made noise, "...Nothing... ..." "Is it broken?'" Cloud asked, Jecht slammed the machine, making the receptionist run over. "Sir, what are you doing! No violence here, please!" Yuna found a treadmill; Cloud looked at it, barely, "... Should I try it?" He ran on the treadmill for a while... Tifa found a locker; Cloud looked inside it, "What is this... a Megaphone? Hanging on to this won't do any good..." They went to the 65th floor, where they solved a tedious puzzle. There were several treasure chests, but only one was open. Yuna told them they must find the unlocked one, get the Midgar Piece from it, and place it in a hole in a large model of Midgar, while you are being attacked the whole time. Cloud followed the chest sequence Yuna gave him; it was 2nd from top on left, 3rd from top on left, top right corner, top left, bottom left. The Keycard 66 was in the chest by the stairs. Cloud examined the model at the far left, where Sector 6 would be.)

"Midgar... born from Mako energy which was sucked right out of the earth. A model of the city..." Cloud said, Yuna also looked at the model and said, "When construction of Sector 6 finishes, Shinra's plan will be complete. That must be why he took Aerith..." They went to the 66th floor, as a secretary passed them on the way up, "Whew, I'm so sick of carrying all these files. But I get to meet lots of guys. I guess that's the benefit of being a secretary!" They entered the bathroom and climbed up into the ventilation duct above the toilet. It led to above the Conference Room, which would explain the smell in there. They crouched above the vent, through the slats; they could see President Shinra, Seymour, Shuyin and other employees sitting at a long table in the Conference Room.

"Geez-! That's a lotta suits!" Barret whispered as they watched... Reeve spoke to the group "We have the damage estimates for Sector 7. Considering those factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage is estimated at approximately 10 Billion Gil... The estimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is..." "Like we're rebuilding that dump." Shuyin said, bored, Reeve looked surprised at him, "What?" "As Shuyin said, we're leaving Sector 7 as it is. And restarting the Neo-Midgar plan." "...then the Ancients?" Reeve asked, Seymour smiled, "The Promised Land will soon be ours, Reeve. President Shinra wants you to raise the Mako rates 15% in every area." Palmer, a fat, bald, guy, jumped up and down, smiling a huge smile, "Rate hike! Rate hike! Tra, la, la! And please include our Space Program in the budget!" "Reeve and Scarlet will divide the extra income from the rate increase." Seymour said, Palmer sat down again, "Oh man!"

"Sir, if you raise the rates, the people will lose confidence..." Reeve said, President Shinra just smiled, "It'll be all right. The ignorant citizens won't lose confidence; they'll trust Shinra, Inc. even more." "Ha ha ha! After all, we're the ones who saved Sector 7 from AVALANCHE!" Heidegger said, smiling, Barret whispered angrily, "That dirty #$*$^" A group of men entered the Conference Room, one had light brown hair, another had bright blond hair, the third had short white hair, while the fourth had messy black hair, they all wore lab coats, Seymour smiled, "Hojo, Nooj, Gippal, Barali,. How's the girl?" Hojo turned his head, "As a specimen, she is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the

process of comparing her to her mother, Ifalna, but for now the difference is 18%."

"How long will the research take?" President Shinra asked, Barali said, "Probably 120 years. It's probably impossible to finish in our lifetime. Or in the lifetime of the specimen too, for that matter." Hojo turned away from the table, he said, "That's why we're thinking of breeding her. Then we could create one that would withstand our research for a long time." "What about the Promised Land? Won't it hinder our plans?" Shuyin asked, Nooj said, "That's what we need to plan. The mother is strong... and yet has her weaknesses." "That concludes our meeting." President Shinra said and the employees dissembled, Scarlet paused and looked up. "Something stinks..." She said and left. Cloud looked up. "They were talking about Aerith... right?"

"I dunno." Barret said, Tifa sighed, "Probably." "Let's follow 'em." Cloud said, they exited the duct and landed back on the toilet, exiting the bathroom and came around a corner. They spotted Hojo, Cloud whispered, "Hojo... huh...?" Hojo climbed the stairs to the 67th floor and the group followed. Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuna, Chappu, and Jecht followed Hojo to the 67th floor of the Shinra building. "I remember him. That Hojo guy. He's in charge of the Shinra's Science Department. Cloud, don't you know him?" Barret asked Cloud, he shook his head, "This is the first time I've actually ever seen him. So... that's what he looks like..." The group followed Hojo to a dreary laboratory. A red, lionlike creature was imprisoned in a glass tube, sitting apathetically in the far corner. They hid behind separate crates, just in time to avoid an employee who entered the room, he asked, "Is this today's specimen?" "Yes. We're starting right away. Raise it to the upper level." Hojo said, with a nod, the employee left. Hojo placed his hand on the glass, "My precious specimen..."

He stood there for a while, then exited. Cloud, Yuna, Jecht, Chappu, Tifa, and Barret came out of hiding, Tifa and Chappu went to the creature, Chappu wondered, "Precious specimen...?" "Is it going to be used for a biological experiment?" Tifa asked, Yuna and Cloud turned and saw a metal dome, with a single door. There was a window in the door, through which shined bright purple light, Cloud whispered softly, "Jenova..." Though Yuna was confused, they peered into the window and saw a strange, white, female being. Her head had apparently been removed rather violently. Cloud and Yuna backed away and clutched their heads. A high-pitched whine reverberated through the room, or perhaps only Cloud and Yuna's heads, and they collapsed to the floor. Tifa, Chappu, Jecht and Barret ran over.

"Jenova... Sephiroth's... So... they've brought it here." Cloud said, Yuna wondered what they saw, Tifa shouted, "Cloud, be strong!" "Did you see it?" Yuna asked, Chappu was confused as Haro asked for him, "See what? See what?"

"It's moving... still alive?" Cloud wondered, Jecht and Barret looked into the window, Barret shouted, "Where's its $#&*& head? This whole thing's stupid. Let's keep goin'." Cloud and Yuna got up, the group continued, futher into the lab, reaching an elevator. They entered and climbed to the 68th floor. Cloud, Barret, Yuna, Jecht, Chappu, and Tifa arrived on the 68th floor. It was a research lab, more advanced than that on the 67th floor. There was a glass tube like that on the 67th. Near the glass tube was Hojo and inside the glass tube was Aerith. Yuna and Cloud shouted, "Aerith!"

"Aerith? Oh, is that her name? What do you want?" Hojo asked, Cloud said, "We're taking Aerith back." "Outsiders..." Hojo stared at Yuna strangely, Barret said, "Shoulda noticed it earlier, you..." "There's so many frivolous things in this world." Hojo said, Cloud, Jecht and Barret moved forward, Hojo looked at them, "Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?"

"Ugh." Yuna stared at him angrily, gripping her gun, Hojo smiled. "That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves. Now, bring in the Specimen!" The red creature from the 67th floor was lifted into the tube. Cloud, Yuna, Jecht, Chappu, Barret, and Tifa ran to the tube. The creature twitched its tail. Aerith ran to the glass.

"Cloud, Yuna, help!" she shouted, Cloud turned to Hojo, he asked, "What do you think you're doin'?" "Lending a helping hand to an endangered species... Both of them are on the brink of extinction... If I don't help, all these animals will disappear." He answered, Yuna and Tifa stared at him, Yuna aimed her gun at him, she shouted, "...animal? That's terrible! Aerith is a human being!" "You're gonna pay!" Barret shouted, Cloud asked, "Barret! Can't you do anything?" Barret aimed his gun at the tube, he shouted, "Awright! Step back!" "Stop!" Hojo shouted, but he was too late, Barret fired at the tube. The inside of the tube glowed a brilliant white as it malfunctioned. Hojo ran to the tube, he was in shock, "Wh... what are you do- Oh! My precious specimens..." The tube glowed brighter, the door opened... the light dimmed, and they could see the red creature poised in the door. It leaps forward and starts attacking Hojo.)

"Now's our chance to get Aerith!" Yuna shouted, Cloud nodded and ran into the tube and helped Aerith up from the floor, she smiled, "Thanks, Cloud." She ran out of the tube, which started to glow a dull blue. Cloud, holding Aerith closed, backed out of the tube, Tifa asked, "Cloud... what's wrong?" "...The elevator is moving." Cloud said, Hojo pulled himself out from under the red creature, scared "This is no ordinary specimen. This is a very ferocious specimen!" It turned away from Hojo and sat, to everyone's surprise, it spoke in a deep voice, "He's rather strong. I'll help you all out." "It talked!" Tifa asked, surprised, it said to her, "I'll talk as much as you want later, Miss." Yuna calmly walked to the creature, Cloud said, "We'll take care of that monster. Somebody take Aerith somewhere safe... Tifa, I'm countin' on you! Chappu, go with them!" Chappu nodded, then he, Tifa and Aerith ran out. Yuna asked, "What's your name?"

"Hojo has named me, Red XIII. A name with no meaning whatsoever to me. Call me whatever you wish." Red XIII said, the monster appeared and Cloud shouted to his remaining party, "Come on!" Yuna changed to Berserker and attacked with Red XIII, using a thunder material, Jecht supercharged his sword and slashed at it, Cloud slashed at it, Barret shot at it, Yuna went berserk and killed it, Chappu, Aerith and Tifa ran into the lab, Cloud looked at her, "Aerith, you all right?" "She seems all right, ...in many ways." Tifa said, Red XIII said, "I have a right to choose, too. I don't like two-legged things." "What are you?" Chappu asked, Red XIII smiled, "An informed question. But difficult to answer. I am what you see. ...You must have many questions, but first, let's get out of here. I'll lead the way." Aerith smiled at Cloud, "Cloud... so you did come for me." Red XIII leapt over the railing toward the exit, he said, "I apologize for what happened back there. I was merely acting to throw Hojo off guard..."

"Now we've saved Aerith, ain't no need to be in this buildin'! So let's get the hell outta here!" Barret shouted, Cloud sighed and said, "If all of us go together, we'll be noticed. Let's break up into groups." Cloud took Yuna and Jecht, Barret went Chappu and Red XIII, while Aerith and Tifa were by themselves, Aerith said, "I'll see you later! We'll be waiting at the 66th Floor Elevator." "We'll be going first! Meet at the 66th Floor Elevator." Tifa said, they exited. A person in the lab gave Cloud's group the Keycard 68; he was scared to death, "No! Please don't kill me. I only did what Hojo told me to do. To prove it to you... here, this is the key card to the 68th Floor. Would I be doing this if I was the enemy?" They went to the 66th Floor elevator and operated the switch. A Turk walked in and placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder... "H, hey! What is it?" Cloud asked, surprised, Rude asked, "Would you press 'Up' please?"

"Turks? Must be a trap..." Jecht whispered, Tseng came into the elevator, "It must have been a real thrill for you... Did you enjoy it?" "Ggh..." Cloud knew something wasn't right.

Rude and Tseng led Cloud, Yuna, Jecht, Chappu, Barret, Tifa, and Red XIII into the President's office. Their hands and feet were bound, Cloud looked at the others, "You all got caught, too?" then turned to the President, "Where is Aerith!" "In a safe place." Seymour said, appearing at his side, the President got up from his desk, "She's the last surviving Ancient... Don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history." "Cetra... That girl, is she a survivor of the Cetra?" Red XIII sounded surprised, Seymour smiled and said, "Cetra, or the Ancients will show us the way to the 'Promised Land.' I'm expecting a lot out of her." "The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?" Red XIII asked, the President said, "Even so, it's just too appealing to not to pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. ...If the land is fertile..." "Then there's gotta be Mako!" Barret shouted, realizing something.

"Exactly. That is why our money sucking Mako Reactor is a necessity. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo-Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory..." President Shinra said, Barret struggled against his handcuffs,"$#^%! Quit dreamin'!" "Oh really, don't you know? These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and science. Well, that is all for our meeting." Seymour waved them off, Rude hurried in, "Come on! Outta his way!" Cloud, Tifa, Yuna, Jecht, Chappu, and Red XIII left, but Barret stayed behind, "Hold it! I got a lot I wanna say to you!" Barret was dragged out, still struggling, by Rude. President Shinra polished his jacket buttons, he said, "If you need something else... talk to my secretary."

"Sir, I believe that one of those people were the rogue SOLDIER who caused more damage then Sephiroth during that incident." Seymour said, surprising the President. "If he is, we better tighten security." President Shinra nodded and did so, not noticing Seymour grin evilly and whispered, "The fool….."

* * *

Cloud and the others woke up in the prison cells on the 67th floor; Aerith and Yuna were in their own cell on the left, Barret and Red XIII shared the right cell, across the hall, Jecht and Chappu shared the right cell, and Tifa was in the cot in Cloud's center cell, Tifa whispered, "Psst (Can we get out?)" "(Leave it to me)" he whispered, Tifa smiled, "Psst (Cloud, you're so brave!)"

Cloud walked to the door of the cell and thought to himself, _'I wonder how Barret is doing?_', in Barret's cell, he shouted, "Hey! Aerith is an Ancient and the real name of the Ancients is Cetra. The Ancients know where the Promised Land is and the Shinra is searching for that Promised Land. I only hear stories 'bout the Promised Land. I don't know if it really exists. Is that right? The Shinra believe that the Promised Land is full of Mako energy. Which means, if the Shinra get there, they'll suck up all the Mako energy. ...and the land'll wither away. The Planet's gonna get weaker." He stood, "I can't just leave 'em be. I'm recruitin' new members! Me, Tifa, Yuna, Jecht, Chappu, Cloud... and Aerith too." He turned to Red XIII, "How 'bout you?" Red XIII gets up, stretches, and lies down again, Barret stared at him, "You're so damn boring." "...Grandpa." Red XIII whispered, Barret looked at him, surprised, "Grandpa! Ha, ha, ha... Grandpa, hmm... ha, ha, ha..."

Red XIII sat up and asked, "What's so funny?" "Nothin'... ha, ha" Barret said, Cloud wondered how Aerith and Yuna were doing, in their cell, Aerith was lying on her cot, she asked, "Cloud, are you there?" "Aerith! You safe?" he asked, "Yeah, I'm all right." She swung her legs over the side of the cot, smiling, "I knew that Cloud come for me." "Hey, I'm your bodyguard, right?" She walked to the door of her cell, sitting with Yuna, she said, "The deal was for one date, right?" Tifa sat up, "...oh, I get it." "...! Tifa! Tifa, you're there too!" Aerith said, Tifa sighed, "EXCUSE me." She stood up and said, "You know, Aerith, I have a question." "What?" "Does the Promised Land really exist?" Aerith shook her head, "...I don't know." She walked to the middle of the cell and looked upwards, "All I know is.., The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. And... then... The Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness." She looked back down, Tifa asked, "...What does that mean?"

"More than words... I don't know." Aerith told her, Cloud asked, "...Speak with the Planet?" Tifa sat back on the cot, she asked, "Just what does the Planet say?" "It's full of people and noisy. That's why I can't make out what they're saying." Aerith said, hearing a beat in her ears, Cloud asked, "You hear it now?" "I, I only heard it at the Church in the Slums. Mother said that Midgar was no longer safe. That is... my real mother." She told them, she sat back on the cot, she said, "Someday I'll get out of Midgar... Speak with the Planet and find my Promised Land. ..That's what mom said. I thought I would stop hearing her voice as I grew up, but..." Yuna sighed, "I should give up. I'd probably never find him anyway."

"What happened to the young woman who was able to stop Sin and bring forth the Eternal Calm?" Jecht said. "You should never give up on your goals, Yuna." "I'd never would thought someone like you perching some wise advice," a person spoke in a deep voice, causing Yuna to gasp, she asked, "Is that you….. Sir Auron?" "No way, Yunie, you're there, too!" A younger feminine voice shouted from the cell across hers, a calmer voice spoke, "Yuna, are you alright?" "Rikku, Paine, you're alright!" Yuna smiled and asked, "What happened?" "Brother decided to be stupid and tried to follow you after you fell," Rikku said, Paine continued, "Unfortunately, we got separated from them, but we were lucky to run into Auron. We planned to invade this place to get information where you were, but we got caught." "Sorry to interrupt this reunion," Cloud said, "Let's just get some sleep." He walked to the wall of the cell and sat down, falling asleep. Everyone else did the same; Auron touched the shoulder of his cellmate and looked up.

'_I wonder how she would react if she could see you now…'_ he whispered before he fell asleep as well.

* * *

Wonder who Auron was talking to? -smiles evilly- Next chapter: The escape, the discovery of Auron's cellmate and the results of Hojo's experiment, breaking out of Shin-Ra HQ, the bridge boss fight, Kalm, and the incident of Nibelheim. Please, R&R! Happy Halloween!


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